The Cavalry
by Cranston
Summary: What if Xander called in some friends to help after the first assault on the vineyard?
1. Chapter 1

I own none of the characters in this story.

What would have happened if Xander called for help after the assault on the vineyard?

* * *

Summers Household

"We're going back to the vineyard."

There was a stunned silence at Buffy words.

"There's something there. We've been worrying about the Seal, but if that's so important then why are all the Bringers and Caleb at the Vineyard? Caleb said he had something of mine, so we're going to take it back!"

Giles spoke up "Buffy, while your reasoning is grounds for further research of the vineyard, we're in no shape to attempt another assault."

"Be quiet Giles, there's no time for research. We've got to go now!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Why?" asked Kennedy.

"Because we need to move quickly. The longer we wait the further along the First's plans get. Right guys?" Buffy glanced around at the Scoobies and assembled SIT's.

"I disagree." stated Giles.

"Uh, I'm not sure." muttered Willow.

Buffy looked at the last of the 'core' Scoobies. The person who had never deserted her, ever. The one who saw her for _her_ and not just the 'Slayer'. "Xand…?"

Xander looked up, the eye patch covering the remains of his left eye still a shock to her. "I'm trying to see your reasoning here Buff, but I can't. perhaps it's too far to the left."

Buffy was distraught, those she trusted were abandoning her, _again_! "Dawn, what about…"

"I'm sorry Buffy, but you're just wrong this time."

Xander jumped in. "That's not entirely true."

Everyone looked at him, amazed.

"It's idiotic to attack now, we're all tired and injured. We wait till morning, gives us time to rest up. It also means those too injured to join the battle won't be under threat from vamps. Finally, we call in the reserves."

"What!" exclaimed Buffy "I'm the Slayer, I'm in charge! Plus, who exactly do you suggest we call?"

"The Fang Gang. Riley's team. Maybe…"

"Look, I am in charge, this is my town! We don't need their help…"

"Shut up!" snarled Xander.

"Wha…"

"I am trying to keep my temper here, and you're making it much harder Buff. There is no reason we shouldn't call for help and no reason for you to snap orders like we're your flunkies. I strongly suggest no-one leaves the house till dawn, and that we all get some sleep. I'm gonna make some calls."

With that, Xander strode out of the house to the porch, pulling a cell phone from his back pocket as he went. Leaving a stunned slayer, a surprised Wiccan, an impressed Watcher and a hoard of SIT's who had suddenly developed major crush's on the guy who'd just snubbed 'General Buffy'. Faith just grinned "that's my Boytoy…" she murmured.

* * *

Xander's phone conversations

Ring, ring.

"Deadboy, we've got a big-time apocalypse here and could use some help…problems of your own?…ok, need any help?…well, I can divert some of my friends to back you up…you sure, they're good…ok, see you the flip side, Overbite."

Ring, ring.

"Erik, good to hear your voice…I know, but we've got a major situation here…yep, blood-god big…can you be here by morning?…cool, see you then."

Ring, ring.

"Clark, it's me…I know I said I'd visit, but it's been hectic here for over two years…well, I need help now…by tomorrow morning if you can…that fast? You have improved…ok, see you then."

Ring, ring.

"Reddy!…I know, but you ask for it wearing that coat…Listen, I know you said not to call you that…look, we've got a situation…yes, important enough to call you…well, I'm voluntarily calling you and will hafta explain this to a pair of Slayers…tomorrow morning? Great. See ya."

Ring, ring.

"Alex, sorry to call during work hours, but I need your help. I know it's a long way from Detroit, but could you get to Sunnydale as soon as you can, tomorrow morning if possible…Oh, you picked up… It's a code '666' if you know what I mean. I know it'll be pushing it…hey, Erik said he could make it, and he's got to get here from New York…ok, bye big guy."

Ring, ring.

"Hiya Riley…well, we've got a army of super-vamps here…well, I thought you'd like in…I know it's your job, you telling me you don't love it?…I know man, hey I'll introduce you to Robin Wood, and you can plot Spike's not-soon-enough second death…when can you get here?…early tomorrow, cool."

Ring, ring.

"Hiya Colonel…well, I've got me a parasite problem…well, I wouldn't say no to you and your team coming to visit…it could get heavy…tomorrow morning too soon?…yes, it is that desperate…you're a jet jockey, fly them over…see ya tomorrow Jack."

Ring, ring.

"Dutch… I'm sorry to do this, but I need your help…load for 'leech's' if you know what I mean…I know you're retired, but…don't make me fight dirty…-_sigh_- you'd be fighting beside someone very happy to see you alive…yes, she's here, but doesn't know I know you…yes, I am a bastard…tomorrow then…bye."

Xander glanced around. "I'll never live this down if anyone finds out…"

Ring, ring.

"Harrigan, it's me…yeah, we'll go drinking later…I need the LAPD 'blind' to the Angel Investigations crew for a while…they're dealing with an apocalypse right now and don't need any trouble with your lot…I know…look, I've got some serious weight arriving tomorrow, they'll straighten it out…my word on it…thanks…one more thing…you're the second person to tell me that tonight…well, could ya send Harrelson's team this way loaded for bear?…super-vamps, lots of them…we need all the help we can get…thanks man…you are not too old for this shit! You need to spend less time with Murtaugh…see ya round."

Xander's head whipped up as someone approached from his newly blind side, then relaxed.

"Hey G-Man."

"Xander. Under the circumstances, I would like to know just who you've asked to join us here. It's been much too long for phone calls to just Angel and Riley."

Xander sighed heavily. "Some of the best guy's in the world Giles, and I've just dragged them into a war."

"Yes, well…"

"I'll explain when they've all arrived."

"That may not be soon enough."

"Giles, all the people I just spoke to trust me enough to do as I ask, drop everything their doing and high-tail it here. I met most of them on my road trip and they're all good-guys. Trust me, just for tonight. Please."

"Alright Xander. When they've all arrived."

"Thanks G-Man. Uh, Buffy's Slaydar may be triggered by some of them…"

"Oh dear lord…"

"Help me restrain her."

"That I will. I may distract her with the knowledge that you've got enough pull with the LAPD to 'disappear' Angel and his team from police interference."

"It's a favour from a friend, and he'll catch hell for it if Riley's bosses won't square it, but Angel doesn't need the distractions right now."

A sudden gust of wind surprise Giles, while Xander grins at the man who's appeared near them.

"Hi Clark, come on in."

* * *

Greetings all, I'm leaving it there for now, mostly because I'm curious how many of Xander's friends people can identify from the phone calls. Anyone who gets them all will win a cookie!

Now, leave a review, you know you want to…


	2. Chapter 2

I own all of the characters portrayed within! I am the all-powerful, the undefeatable **FICTION-MASTER**! Ha ha ha ha ha! Bow down and worsh…

Terribly sorry, I don't know what came over me. Despite what the voices in my head tell me, disregard my prior statement.

Mea culpa, mea culpa. I should've said, I know nothing about Angel: the Series after about mid-way series 3. Thank you to Jason Barnett for correcting me there. I'd just assumed that there was something major going on around then. If you like, assume an alternate apocalypse for the AI gang, perhaps involving a feedback loop between Lorne and Sweet (You know, the singing demon from Once More With Feeling).

I own none of the characters portrayed within this story, at all, really.

* * *

Summers (and pretty much everyone else's too) residence

_A sudden gust of wind surprise Giles, while Xander grins at the man who's appeared near them._

"_Hi Clark, come on in."_

"Thanks Xander. Hello sir, I'm Clark Kent."

Giles looked befuddled "Uh, Rupert Giles. Pleasure to make your acquaintance Clark."

Clark cocked his head at Xander "_The_ Giles?"

Xander nodded lazily "The one and only G-Man…" he paused "…with the exception of all those FBI agents…"

Clark grinned at him, then squinted slightly. Then, he turned slightly green. "My god Xan! What the hell happened to your eye! I thought you were in costume, then I 'peeked' and, urgh…"

Xander lost his grin. "We'll talk inside. C'mon Clark." and led the queasy teen quickly inside.

Giles still looked befuddled "Peeked?"

Inside

Faith performed a double-take, then grinned. "Who ordered the beefcake?" she hollered, causing a veritable cascade of Potentials to appear at the thought of another attractive male to lust over. Several had their lust slightly reduced by Clark dashing to the toilet (mercifully vacant) and throwing up, noisily.

"Aww, he's broken." Faith mock-whined.

"You ok Clark" asked Xander, as the last son of Krypton exited the bathroom.

"Yeah, mostly it was running so far so fast aggravated by the shock…now, what happened to your eye?" demanded the toughest teen on earth as Xander led him to the couch.

"That's why I called. We're facing a bad guy that swept aside our top-guns, killed some of the potentials, did this…" Xander gestured at his eye patch "…and has an army of super-vampires just waiting to be unleashed from the Hellmouth."

"Whoa."

"Yeah."

"Xander!" shrieked Buffy "What are you doing! You can't tell people about this stuff! He could be the First…"

"Buffy, one, He already knew about the supernatural. Two, he is one helluva fighter and could probably take both you and Faith at the same time. Three, he's solid. And four, why would the First pretend to be someone so it could listen to us bemoan it's advantages? It already gloats enough as it is!"

Buffy paused.

"Besides, I thought people were headed to bed?"

"We wanted to talk to you." this came from Willow.

"Yeah Xander, who is he? How can you think he could take me and Faith, we're Slayer's for pity's sake! Plus, why're you inviting people into _my_ house!"

"Well, my name's Clark and, er, I'm here to help." He turned to Xander "have you called anyone else?"

"Yeah, a few others. Most are arriving tomorrow."

"_Excuse me!_" yelled Buffy "Xander, I need to talk to you, now." with that, the one eyed carpenter was dragged from the room. Clark looked a little lost, there appeared to be a large number of girls watching him like hawks.

"erm, Hi…?"

* * *

Summers Residence hallway

"Who is he and what is he doing here?" snapped Buffy.

"He's a friend and he's here to help." answered Xander evenly. He turned as he saw Giles come up to them "Hey G-Man."

"Xander. Buffy." he greeted.

"Xander. Why. Is. He. Here?" asked Buffy through clenched teeth.

"When I phoned Angel and Riley, I called a few others who I know, who should be able to help us as well. He's one of them."

"How much help can he be? He threw up from running too far, too fast!" retorted Buffy.

"From Smallville. Kansas." replied Xander, as Giles listened to the developing argument, and half an ear on what was happening in the living room.

"Huh!" was the ever so eloquent response.

"He ran here from Smallville, in Kansas." Giles began to pay much more attention to what Xander was saying "In the time it took me to make six phone-calls and speak with Giles."

"Then he's dangerous!" exclaimed Buffy

"How did he do this?" enquired Giles "I know of no spell that would have allowed such a turn of pace."

"He just can. He may have found out more since we last spoke in person, but if he has it's up to him if he wants to tell you. And he is _not_ dangerous Buffy!"

"If he can do that, what's to stop him attacking us from within!"

"Xander, while we trust you…" Giles said this with a bit of a glare at Buffy "…I too must question the thought of allowing an individual unknown to the majority of us to reside here over night."

"I see your point Giles, but my thought was to have him stay with me at my apartment. I wouldn't want to put extra pressure on the bathroom here, I spend enough time fixing it as it is!"

"Are you sure he can be trusted." there, Giles had distilled the entire emotional side of the argument into one question.

"Yes. He is one of the most decent men I know, raised by some of the best people it has been my privilege to meet."

"Very well…"

There was a crash from the living room along with the thump of a body hitting the floor and a piteous cry of "Xander!". Needless to say, Xander, Buffy and Giles rushed to see what was wrong. Buffy and Giles skidded to a stop at the scene before them, while Xander grinned.

One of the SiT's had clearly launched herself towards where Clark had been sitting. The couch where he'd been seated was on it's side. _Had _and _been_ being the important words. The young kryptonian was now plastered to the ceiling, desperately trying to evade the grabbing hands of the other SiT's while Dawn and Willow were giggling manically and Faith was smirking in a corner.

Xander was the first to speak.

"So, got a handle on the flying then?"

"Xander, get them away from me! They want my shirt!" was the frantic reply.

Smirking slightly, Faith interjected, "Boy shouldn't've said he's used to working shirtless on the farm. After your show X, they're ready for another."

Xander grinned "Alright girls, settle down. Anyone remember Rule 13? No? 'If a potential date displays unusual characteristics, back off until research has proven them harmless.' Okay?"

Most of the Potentials backed off, and Clark began to relax. Then, one of the SiT's piped up "But he's your friend. He wouldn't hurt us!"

"Yeah!"

"He's lower! Grab 'im!"

A couple managed to get a hold of Clark's sturdy work-shirt. So firm a grip in fact, that when he hurriedly floated back to the ceiling, they were dragged up with him.

"Keep Hold!"

"We'll pull 'im down!"

"Xander! Help Me!"

As the gathered potentials grasped at their suspended compatriots, Xander turned to Giles. "If he _was_ evil, he could kill us all without much effort. Looking at him now, desperately attempting to escape the attentions of hormone-driven SiT's, do you really think he's evil?"

"Well, his reaction is in keeping with a relatively inexperienced…"

"Hey!"

"…He heard me?"

"Yep. There's not much he can't do. Well, he's not intrinsically smarter, but he can think _faster_ if necessary. Just keep any red or green glowing rocks away from him, and everything's hunky-dory."

"Fascinating."

There was a ripping sound from Clarks shirt, and a whimper from the man himself, as the SiT's crashed to the floor, taking his top with them. There were gasps 'wow's' and a 'holy crap!' from the potentials as they looked at him. He whimpered.Clark thenlooked over at Xander. "You owe me a shirt. Fighting an army of super-vampires is one thing, this is above and beyond!"

"I know. Believe me, I know. Before you arrived, me, G-Man and…another guy, were the only guy's around. I'm enjoying the obscurity. Come on, you can stay at my place and I'll give you a change of clothes."

"Not Hawaiian." begged the Kansas resident.

"Only if you make a mess." replied Xander, unknowingly ensuring that his apartment would be cleaned, so as to ensure Clark's escape from multi-coloured shirtdom.

As they made their way to the door, Xander handed Clark his jacket so as to preserve _some_ of his modesty in public. Heading down the drive, Xander half-turned and called back to them;

"If Alucard shows up, send him on to my place." And with that, Xander and Clark disappeared around the corner.

Giles shot upright from where he had sat "Alucard! Bloody Hell!".

* * *

You lucky people. I am feeling generous, two posts in one night. Or maybe I just can't sleep…

Anyway, in order, Xander rang; Angel, Blade (Movie version), Clark Kent (Smallville version), Alucard (Hellsing), Alex Murphy, aka Robocop (Movie version), Riley Finn, Colonel Jack O'Neill (Stargate), Harry 'Dutch' Tasker (Predator / True Lies) and Mike Harrigan (Predator 2). Also mentioned were Hondo Harrelson (SWAT) and Roger Murtaugh (Lethal Weapon quadrology)

Hope you enjoy, and leave a review. Pretty please.


	3. Chapter 3

I would like to re-iterate that I own none of the characters portrayed within this story _glances nervously at the assortment of lawyers surrounding me_ umm, well done to those who made guesses as to who the phone-calls were to, but I'm afraid none of you got it right. Oh well, more cookies for me!

For reference, I will be calling Police Girl (Hellsing) mostly by her first name, Seras. Also, Robocop will be either Alex, 'R.C.', or maybe Murph…

* * *

Chez Harris

"So, who else did you call? I assume from your comment to Mr Giles that the Redcoat is en-route?"

"Blade, you, Alucard, Officer Murphy, Riley's squad, Colonel O'Neill and Dutch. Harrigan's arranging for Hondo's SWAT team to head over here and camouflage for Deadboy's operation." replied Xander as they slouched on the Harris couch.

"Who've you got for the second line?" asked a curious Clark.

"What second line?" was Xander's ingenuous response.

"Xand, I know how you operate. You've called in enough of the network to help you, but there's a few you haven't."

"Wellll…"

"Xand."

"Doc Strange is off dimension-hopping right now. Michael and KITT really aren't equipped for this. Hudson Hawk is in Europe, Lady Croft in Africa. The Charmed Ones are close enough to be a second front, but far enough away not to be caught in any blast that may occur. Ryback's on vacation in the Bahamas. Bond is off on one of _his_ save-the-free-world jobs. Oh, and DD isn't suited to teamwork with new people. I basically called in everyone who could make it in time."

"Jarod and the Monk?"

"No-one knows where they are unless they call in. Besides, this is likely to be an attention grabbing one. I'd hate to see them caught because they felt the need to help."

"Hellboy?"

"I'm gonna catch enough flack over knowing Alucard. Especially if he brings Seras. I'll be called an idiot led by his hormones, again! Nevertheless, if I don't log on to the site every twelve hours, some damn urgent e-mails and pages are getting sent out."

"Oh good. It's nice to know the boss has a plan." commented Clark flippantly.

"I am _not_ the boss!" snarled Xander "Any of you guys call and I'd be running to you, 'less the annual attempt at the apocalypse was happening here."

"I know Xand, I know." came the apologetic response to Xander's short tirade "It's just, you _are_ the reason this thing exists. Before I met you, I didn't know the super-natural existed. Just thought it was all meteor induced madness. I meet you, make a friend, discover you staking some vamps, discover this stuff and enter the mandatory period of near re-evaluating most everything I know. Then, a week after you left, you call me, desperate for help, to Chicago to help a _Mountie_ of all things with a vampire related case! You're the one who met all the fighters in the fold and managed to set up a mutual support network by _accident_! You just passed names on to who you thought needed their help, and none of us minded cos' it was you asking. It got so most of us asked you if they needed help, instead of going it alone and getting ourselves killed. To top it off, you met that 'Brill' guy and arranged electronic counter-surveillance for us and set up the website so we could get in contact with each other directly but securely! You may not be the boss, but most of us wouldn't mind it if you were. I am curious though, how did you get to all the places you had to, to meet everyone in one summer? Most of us I can see it, but Bond and Lady Croft? Especially Alucard!"

"I've always had the uncanny ability to meet weirdo's." was the dry reply.

"Ha ha. At least tell me how you met Alucard." came the plea.

"Fine, he was actually in the country on business. He had an account with Wolfram and Hart from a couple of centuries back, anyway, I was in LA, saw him go in, thought 'evil' and 'vamp' and trailed him when he came out. When he went down an alley, I rushed in and staked him."

"You staked the No Life King" squeaked Clark, "What did he do!"

"Laughed. Told me I was a 'good lad' patted me on the head and changed into a flock of bats. I swear a couple of them bit me. I got back to my motel room, found his contact info on the bed. The rest is history."

"Whoa."

"There is one thing I need to discuss with you before we turn in."

"What?"

"What you want the other's to know about your powers. So far I've evaded their source, but with everyone coming in, we need to tell them something."

Clark looked slightly panicky. "Well, could we just say what my powers are, and say that their origins are on a need-to-know basis. With them not needing to know."

"The SiT's sure. Most of the network have made up their own mind about whether to trust you already. Basically, Buffy, Giles and Wood will insist on knowing. And I can't blame them with the First breathing down our throats. Willow will find out through Buffy and I'd like to tell Dawn. It would also help with the 'trust Alucard' bit. But, it's your choice, I'm not gonna reveal anything you consider private without your say-so, just as I wouldn't with anyone else's secrets to you."

Clark looked decidedly, uh, undecided. "I really don't want it to become common knowledge that I'm an alien."

"What about…hmm…we selectively edit your history?"

"Huh?"

"Tell them the truth, but not everything. Mention the meteor storm and say that it's linked to you in a way we don't fully understand."

"I thought we did know that bit…?"

"Well, I certainly don't get orbital mechanics!" the reply was accompanied by the Xander Harris Grin - patent pending.

"That could work…"

"Sleep on it, tell me your decision in the morning."

"OK."

You go bed down, I'll take the couch."

"You sure."

"Who's the not-Boss here?"

"You got it not-Boss!" and with a mock salute, the Kansas farm boy headed to the bedroom.

Xander smiled at his thoughts _The couch may be less comfortable than the bed, but I'll bet money it's more comfortable than those travelling here will get!_ and with that thought, the one-eyed warrior settles in to sleep.

* * *

Blade's Warehouse - New York

"Whistler!" Blade called for the irascible old man who'd raised him.

"What."

"I'm going to Sunnydale. Harris called, needs help. Said it was 'blood-god big'. Any suggestions on what I should take?"

"Guns." was the initial suggestion.

"Check."

"Bigger guns."

"Check."

"Really big guns."

"Check."

"Throwing knives."

"Check."

"Katana."

"Check."

"Grenades."

"Check. Anything else?"

"The car?"

* * *

Hellsing Manor - England

"Master, where are we going?"

"To speak to Sir Hellsing, Police Girl."

The pair enter Sir Integra Hellsing's office.

"Very well Alucard, Police Girl. As ever, the mission is…"

"Actually Master…" interrupts Alucard with his trademark mad grin "…I need some time off."

Sir Hellsing is understandably thrown by this, Alucard is normally impatient to go out and kill things. Now he wants time off?

"The Police Girl as well." This drew shocked looks from both Sir Hellsing and Seras, who glanced at each other, then turned to face Alucard.

"Alucard…?"

"Master…?"

"It would seem the young lion has need of assistance." Alucard was still grinning "If nothing else, it behoves me to help, if only to discover how long it will take to dissuade him from calling me, _Reddy_." He spat the last word like a curse.

"Young Lion…? You mean Xander?" asked Seras.

"Mr Harris has called for help? Why?"

"Something serious. After all, he will have to convince two slayers to work with me, something he's never attempted to do before. I also suspect that he has called others in his network for aid."

"Mr Harris has never called for aid before." mused Sir Hellsing "I believe we can spare Officer Victoria, Alucard, but I think you should remain here. We cannot risk the Royal Protestant Knights becoming distracted from our focus here. Nor vulnerable to the Millennium Group."

"Very well Master, come Police Girl, I must instruct you in the ways of travelling by shadow if you are to reach the young lion in a timely fashion." and with that, Alucard swept from the room, almost pouting at missing out at a chance to tease Xander Harris.

* * *

Detroit - One Police Plaza

As Robocop strode through the corridors of the police station, he constantly scanned his surroundings. Making his way to the Captain's office, he waited until the Captain was off the phone.

"I am requesting down-time and the use of the modified cruiser." he stated in his usual monotone.

"Christ Murph, we're stretched as it is. Like it or not, you'd leave a big gap in the force than most, and a lot of crooks would escape capture."

"This is unfortunate, but acceptable." was the unexpected reply.

Now the police captain was curious. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you hard-wired to uphold the Law?"

"That is a core directive."

"Then how is leaving 'acceptable'."

For the first time, feeling entered Robocop's voice. "A, friend, contacted me for help." He returned to his usual monotone "Answering this call satisfies all core directives."

"What are they again?"

"1) Serve the public trust, 2) Protect the innocent, 3) Uphold the law."

"And providing help to a friend will do that better than staying here, eh?"

"That is the case."

"Who is this friend?"

"Alexander LaVelle Harris. Age, 21. Caucasian Male. Eyes, Brown. Hair, Black. Suspected in several crimes attributed to gang activity, no convictions. Has operated under the alias Alexander Harrison. Recently released from hospital - severe ocular damage leading to the removal of his left eye. Is currently involved in preventing the event described under code six-sixty-six, which he declared during his contact with me."

The captain looked thoughtful "Harrison. Harrison, you mean the guy that helped us with that occult murder case a coupla years back?"

"Affirmative."

"Cod six-sixty-six, don't say I recall that one…"

"It is contained within the updated military liaison instructions."

"I'll be checking on that. Look, you can go, but you have to take one of the OCP guys with ya."

"I will acquire their assistance. Thank you for your cooperation."

The cyborg turns and leaves the office, while the captain finds his copy of the updated military liaison instructions. _Six-sixty-six. Six-sixty-six…ah, here we are…_

The shout can be heard for quite some distance. "THE END OF THE WORLD!"

* * *

Initiative Main Base - Fort Smith - Arkansas

"All-right guys, listen up. We're headed to Sunnydale and it's apocalypse season. We have been requested on this one, so it's serious. Lt Jackson, what were the local conditions when you over-saw the operation on HST designate Hostile 17?"

"Seemed quiet, Captain Finn. I was on edge the whole time given the background and all, but nothing out of the ordinary happened."

"Which should have clued us all in that something big was going down on the Hellmouth. All-right then, I suspect that there will be numerous individuals to liaise with, given that contact was made by Xander Harris. Reports say he's made some, odd, friends over the years. Try not to kill anything non-hostile, as it may very well be an ally. You've got a half-hour to load up and get to the transports. That's all"

* * *

Cheyenne Mountain Facility - Colorado Springs

"Righty-ho campers. Our old friend Harris has decided to call in the cavalry. We're talking full support, not just the 'around-the-edges' stuff he had going during and after the Glory mess. We're meeting at the Summers residence, and need to be there by morning. Let's move it people!" Jack O'Neill informed/ordered his team.

"But sir…"

"Jack…"

"Pack zats and those 'special' rounds we worked up for the P-90's. T, bring your Staff weapon. Hammond's already given us a green light on this, so let's go."

"But sir, what about NID oversight?"

"Our resident NID spook heard about this and requested an immediate posting to the Alpha site. Harris' has more influence than he realizes as an expert in this stuff. Now, can we get to 'let's-move-it' portion of this, we can talk on the plane."

* * *

Florida Keyes

"Honey, are you strapped in all right?"

"Yes Harry, I'm fine. Are you sure you got permission to borrow the plane this time?"

"Of course dear."

"It's just there are some rather annoyed looking men coming towards us."

"They won't catch up."

"Har-ry…"

* * *

Los Angeles - SWAT HQ

"All right guys, settle down. The reason we're here on our god-given down-time is that Captain Harrigan ere has a request for us. Captain?" inquired Sgt. Hondo Harrelson.

"You guys remember encountering one Alexander Harris at any time?"

"Sure, works out with us most Saturdays. Said something about wanting to learn from the best. Even took him shooting a few times. None of the tactical stuff though. Nice guy." this came from Boxer.

"Tell me we don't have to take down the guy who's made most of us look poor in one respect or another. I'm the only guy that can take him hand to hand, Deke's the only one that can out-shoot him, and for both of us, that's when Sanchez is skipping in his line-of-sight!" exclaimed Street.

"You know, I'd wondered why you'd moved the sparring mats." interjected Deke.

"Thankfully, you're not going after Harris." Harrigan informed them. "From certain, contacts, I have, I know you know about things which go bump in the night."

"Whatever do you mean, sir."

"Vamps and shit. Look, I owe Harris, a lot, and this is the first time he's asked for anything."

"What's he asked for Captain?" asked Hondo.

"You and your team. Apparently, Harris and his friends are up against an army or something. Super vamps or so he says. I know you SWAT guys experiment with ammunition and hope you've got some vamp-killers, because you're being deployed to Sunnydale as part of a 'anti-terrorism' tour. Unofficially, your their to back Harris and his allies up. This is heavy shit people, you see the news 'bout the terrorist attack in London?"

There were nods and affirmatives from around the room.

"That was the Sunnydale groups major intelligence source."

"Whoa."

"Hell."

"Excuse me sir." asked the newest member of the team, who had replaced T.J. McCabe.

"Yes?"

"Do we know if Rupert Giles made it out of the Council sir?"

"I believe he did. And when you get back, we're going to have a talk regarding how you know so much about them."

"Yes Captain."

"Hondo, pack up your team and head out. SWAT truck is out, so sign out some SUV's."

"Yes Captain. What about Captain Fuller?"

"I'll deal with Fuller sergeant."

"Yes sir."

With that, Harrigan left the room, and Hondo started giving orders.

"Sanchez, Street. You two go get the SUV's and bring them to the armoury. Boxer, your with me. We're going to check out our weapons and combat uniforms. Deke, you and Harrison go collect our assorted custom rounds for our fanged friends. Well move it people, we don't get deployed like this every day!"

As everyone moved to obey Hondo's orders, the newest member sat with a glazed look in his eye. Deke leaned in.

"Look, Jarod, come on man, we've gotta get moving."

Jarod Harrison shook his head slightly. "Agreed." As they headed to where the custom rounds were stored, the Pretender's thoughts went once more to Sunnydale, and the young man who'd helped him that summer. _What have you got yourself into this time Xander?

* * *

_

Well, what do you think? I figured that Xander wouldn't set out on his road trip to find fellow champions, but might stumble into setting up a network between them almost by accident. BTW, don't expect to see the characters mentioned as being away, they were mentioned as being a way to get me out of writing them! Though maybe at a victory party…

Go on, review…


	4. Chapter 4

Hi there, I just hafta remind you that this is a) a work of fiction, and that, b) I own none of the characters portrayed within. All the reviews were great, and the suggestions welcome. By the Way, does anyone have a list of the SiT's names? I only know Molly (already dead), Rona and Kennedy off hand, but I know there were more than that at this stage…

* * *

Chez Harris - 2.00am

The one-eyed man gazed at his computer screen in consideration.

"Hmm, if I clear out the emergency fund…" he mused to himself.

He typed a brief message, attached various files and reports, and e-mailed the site owners.

"After all, they're here to save the world…" he muttered with a grin.

* * *

Unknown Location - 2.30am

The one-eyed man gazed at his computer screen in consideration.

"Wonder what's so big that it's got him of all people calling in the cavalry?" he mused to himself.

He typed a brief response, forwarded the report he'd received to his official superiors and ordered a watch kept on Sunnydale, California.

"After all, they're there to save the world…" he muttered with a grin.

* * *

Chez Harris - 6.00am

"Xander, wake up."

"G' w'y…" came the muttered reply "Sleep now…"

Clark grinned

"Xander, Buffy and Faith have compared stories and Buffy wants you to steer round _her_ curves."

There was a muffled scream from the lump on the couch. It jerked, fell off the edge and landed with a thump. Xander's head came out from under the sheets and directed a glare at Clark that was undiminished by the mere loss of an eye.

"Very funny."

"I thought so."

"Why have you gotten me up at…" Xander glanced at the clock "…_6.00am_! Why?"

"There's things to do today. Remember, all the gang arriving at your behest? Besides, the suns up."

"What do ya know, I always thought sunrise was at nine."

"C'mon City-boy, we've got to get ready. It's not every day you get to introduce Buffy to Alucard."

"Wipe that grin off your face. I'll be hiding behind you, remember? And Buffy, being impatient, will have Willow swat you aside…" Xander trailed off.

"What is it Xan?"

"Clark, you're vulnerable to magic."

"Yeah, so?"

"The First won't be using parlour tricks on us. Damn it, I never thought of this, if the First starts throwing spells, you'll be the prime target. For minimal magic on their part, you'll be taken out of the game…"

"I thought of that when you contacted me. Guess what, I'm here."

"But…"

"My strength and speed work on the vamps. I imagine they'll work on these 'Bringers' as well. It's possible that my Heat Vision may effect his incorporealness. I'm here, I'm staying, end of discussion."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"So, what have you decided as regards the origin of your abilities?"

"Well, if you keep the SiT's out of the loop, and those in the network who don't already know, tell those you think need to know, everything."

"Really? Why the change?"

"You're going to need their trust when everyone else arrives, telling them the truth about me will help with that."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Even the Sci-Fi Geek?"

"Oh God…"

* * *

Later

"So, breakfast?"

"Sure, whatcha got?"

"Uh, I'm sure I've got something…"

"Take out?"

"Take out."

With that, the two friends made their way out the door to sally forth and do battle with the forces of hunger.

"So Xan, where are we meeting the guys?"

Xander's eyes widened in an almost comical expression of terror.

"The meeting point used to be the Magic Box, but I changed it to Buffy's House after…you know."

"Yeah. Then…Our friends are going to descend upon the house of Buffy 'Slay-first-don't-ask-no-questions' Summers?"

"Yep." Xander hopped onto Clarks back "To the Slayer Mansion! Before we have to call for more re-enforcements to protect the original re-enforcements from the people the original re-enforcements are coming to re-enforce!"

After a brief pause while Clark deciphered the sentence, the two sped off in the direction of the Summers Household. Where they had stood, an image formed. It was Jor-El, Clarks biological father!

"So, the One Who Sees has sent for aid…" it morphed into the figure of Buffy Summers and pouted "…It's no fair, only I get to invite players. Oh well, it could be fun…"

* * *

Summers Household - 6.00am

"Giles, why did you get us up at this hour?"

"Well Kennedy, it would appear that we are to receive guests." stated Giles

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Who…"

"Why…"

"Where…"

"Cool."

"Are they safe?"

"They on our side?"

"When…"

Came the responses. (Hey, there are quite a few potentials.) While the elder component looked worried, Dawn seemed confident.

"Following last nights, conversation, Xander took it upon himself to contact certain allies he was aware of who could aid us. I am currently unaware of the complete list, but definitely amongst them are a contingent of the United States armed forces known by the designation 'The Initiative' or 'Omega Delta'. Included is the young man who many of you met last night. Xander estimated that he could successfully challenge both Faith and Buffy simultaneously, in addition to his apparent mastery of levitation and great speed. If this is the case, we now have an invaluable resource, especially if the method he attained his abilities is repeatable. However, we…" here Giles gestured to himself, Buffy and Willow "…believe that we shouldn't immediately allow them full access to our…"

He was interrupted by a loud sniff from Dawn.

"…What is it Dawn?"

"You're acting like anyone Xander knows has to be suspect."

"We are not!" declared Willow "It's just, Xander sometimes doesn't see…"

"What Willow is attempting to explain…" interjected Giles.

"Xander doesn't have the greatest track record with people other than us." summed up Buffy. "If these guy's he called are on the up-and-up, once Willow has checked them out and over, made sure that they aren't keeping secrets from the rest of us, we'll gladly accept their help…"

"Shyeah, right. First thing you said when he explained about last-night-guy was "Then he's dangerous". No where's he from, just a blanket label that anyone or thing that you don't know is dangerous. As to not keeping secrets, of course they will! They don't know us, why should they spill their guts when they're coming here to help us with _the army of super-vamp's we can't handle alone_!"

"I'm the Slayer, I have to know what the people under my command are capable of." Buffy smiled victoriously "Besides, Willow can cast a spell to let us see exactly who these 'allies' are."

"Uh, Buffy…" began Willow

"Are you sure that's the wisest course of action Buffy…?" asked Giles

"ARE YOU FREAKING NUTS!" screeched Dawn

"What?" asked Buffy, confused.

"Let's see, tampering with minds using magic, very much of the bad! Having Willow do it, much, much worse! Destroying any trust they may hold for us. Destroying Xander's credibility with the people he's convinced to help us. Do you need more?"

"What credibility?" asked Anya, who was also curious now "Who's he know that he has credibility left with?"

"Dawn, we need to know. Xander hasn't had the best luck with trusting people…"

"Like Angelus, or Parker, or Professor Walsh?"

"…You have no right bringing them up!" yelled Buffy.

"Why? It's the truth! You've trusted the wrong people as well, so don't bust Xander's chops over past mistakes…"

"STOP!" yelled Willow, "The point is moot."

The assembled force for light looked at her as one.

"Following last year's, problems…" Willow began "…I swore an oath to never mess with someone's mind. The only circumstance under which I could, by oath, or would, by inclination, is to prevent the immediate loss of life. Buffy, sorry, but this doesn't fall under that heading."

"Yeah B," said Faith, taking a role for the first time in a while, "the X-Man's a pretty good judge of character nowadays. Relax, have a brew…"

"Don't!" chorused Willow and Giles, in perfect unison.

"…whatever. See who he turns up. You never know, there may be a potential slayer or two amongst them. Xander meets more Slayers by accident than anyone I've ever heard of."

"Faith has a point." Giles stated. "It behoves us all not to be unpleasant to these new arrivals, while maintaining an essential distance between us."

* * *

Outside Summers Residence - 6.30am

An almost blurred pair of men were, well, blurring towards the house. As they slowed, the pair become recognisable as Clark and his passenger, Xander. As they hurried towards the door to the Summers (and it appears, practically everyone else's as well) home, a figure clad in scarlet stepped from the shadows, accompanied by a shorter blonde woman, both with blood red eyes (Though both had hidden them behind sunglasses.)

"Young Lion."

"Hello Xander."

"Reddy! Seras! Glad you could make it. Come on in, might as well get this over with." stated Xander with a grin.

Alucard's ever-present grin had contracted slightly at the moniker 'Reddy'.

"By the way, this is Clark Kent. I believe you've chatted on-line?"

"Indeed Young Lion. Might I inquire how long you intend to persist in calling me by that idiotic moniker?"

"At least until I get bored of it, or until I'm unable to speak, whichever comes first."

Alucard mutters to himself "Perhaps removal of the tongue…" Then straightens. "Young Lion, while I would prefer to stay and see the greeting that awaits you, my Master has only given permission for the Police Girl to aid you in this battle. With the Millennium group resurgent, and England's supernatural defences reduced with the destruction of the Watcher's Council, My Master insists I remain available to her."

"Understood. That OK with you Seras?"

"Sure Xander, I wouldn't miss this for all the cheese in Cheddar!"

Xander leaned in to Clark. "Her hometown really is called 'Cheddar'. Don't ask."

Alucard turned back to the shadow the two Nosferatu had appeared from.

"Alucard, is the recruitment going well? Were my suggestions useful?"

"Indeed, to both questions. I must return now, Fare well Young Lion, give my regards to Ripper."

"I will Reddy!"

With that, the No Life King swept into the shadow, muttering to himself, and disappeared. Xander turned to his two friends.

"Ok, expect the questions to fly hot and heavy. Clark, I may need you to restrain Buffy when she gets a read off of Seras. Giles seems to know of her group, so we should get some support there. Don't try to antagonise them, but you don't have to take any shit from them either."

"Xander, are you sure this is a good idea? I could wait in the wings…"

"Seras, they have no reason to have a problem with you. Our problem will be dealing with any unreasoned response, but you shouldn't have to hide in the shadows from your allies." Xander grinned "Besides, at worst they'll assume that I've dated yet another bombshell of a demon/mummy/giant bug monster which will inevitably try to kill me…That came out wrong."

Seras laughed at his consternation. "It's ok, I know what you meant."

"Thanks. Let's go."

And with that, the three warriors of Light entered the house (via a spare key that was in Xander's possession.).

* * *

Inside

"…maintaining an essential distance between us." this was from Giles.

"Hi Guys!" called Xander "We've got another guest."

As the group moved to meet this new guest of Xander's, Giles can be heard to mutter 'not the No Life King, _please_ not the No Life King…".

Buffy marched forward without a pause and demanded "Who are you!"

When Faith joined them in the hall, she stiffened. Glancing between Xander and Seras, she promised herself that her Boytoy would answer a few questions later…

"Hi, my name's Seras and I came as soon as Xander called for help."

"Why?"

Xander interrupted the impromptu interrogation, looking at Buffy oddly. "Ladies, Giles, may I present Officer Seras Victoria of the Royal Protestant Knights of Great Britain, also known as the Hellsing Organisation or MI-8. She is a field officer within their elite, if oddly named, Garbage Disposal Unit. They are Britain's answer to, well, us, with the exception that they operate nationwide. Is that good enough? Oh, and the likelihood of her being evil is minimal, as she has made no move to date me."

Xander glanced at Buffy and Willow as he said this, and saw the slight relief on their faces. -_Well, given my track record…_- He looked at Giles, saw the slight twitch that signified the Englishman's conflicting desire to either run away or start an interrogation, -_Ah, he has heard of her then.-_ then did a small double-take at Buffy. -_No reaction. Huh.-_

"Buffy, are you getting anything off your slaydar?"

"Nope."

"Sure?" Xander was puzzled. Giles was approaching complete bafflement.

"Buffy," Giles began "Are you absolutely certain you sense nothing 'off' about Officer Victoria?"

"Yes Giles, geeze, the way you guys are acting she's a vamp or something…"

-_Oh no._- the thoughts were identical in Giles and Xander's heads as partial understanding entered Buffy's expression. She darted forward, stake magically appearing in hand, as she thrust at Seras' chest, only to be stopped-short by Clark.

"Buff!" shouted Xander "She is an ally! She's come all the way from England to help us! Are you going to attack everyone who comes to help if on a snap judgement! Or is it that you don't trust my judgement in friends?"

While this was going on, Seras had sidled over to Clark.

"Does she know that wouldn't do anything to me except piss me off?" she whispered.

"I don't think so." the last kryptonian replied.

"Are they like this all the time?" Seras asked.

"Not nearly enough…" piped up Dawn, who'd snuck up to the two of them. (An impressive feat considering Clark's senses and Seras' status as a Mideon.) "…historically, Xander's the only one to flat out disagree with Buffy. Lately she's been all gung-ho and order girl, maybe this'll deflate her."

"We don't know her! She could easily be evil!"

"Is this the plan! We attack everyone who 'may' be evil!"

"Well…"

"Sheesh, if you treat everyone who comes to help like this, soon we'll have no allies left! Giles, explain to the 'General' here 'bout not pissing off Allies wouldja? I'm going to…oh hell."

"What?" this came not only from Buffy, but everyone else as well.

"I need to talk to Faith, privately."

"Sure, let's go boy toy."

"Wait a minute!" demanded Buffy "What are you going to talk about?"

"Something private. Which is why I said 'privately'."

"Faith, don't go. Xander, you're acting oddly, I think you might be possessed or something…" Buffy trailed off at the incredulous looks from Xander, Dawn, Clark, Seras, Faith and Willow.

"Buff, I am _not_ possessed, this time. Like it or not, there are things going on that others deserve to know before you, just as there are things that you deserve to know before others."

"B, You really need to lighten up. This is the X-Man we're talkin about, not someone we just met!"

"But…" stuttered Buffy

"X, is it really private? I mean, why can't they hear it?"

"It's not so much private as, something you need to hear first."

"Any clues?"

"Hmmm," Xander snapped his fingers, "got it! Faith, Boris and Doris are coming to Sunnydale."

Faith was stunned. "Everyone 'cept X and G, upstairs!" she stammered.

"But…"

"Now, Willow." Xander ground out.

As the potentials, Willow, Dawn, Anya and Buffy, Clark and Seras accompanying them, grudgingly left the room, Faith turned to Xander.

"X, you'd better make sense fast."

"I will, Dana."

"Xander, are you mad? This is Faith!" spluttered Giles.

"G-Man, you are looking at Dana Tasker, daughter of Harry and Helen Tasker. As far as I can tell, the Taskers were on a classified mission and were captured. Dana was put in a fake foster home in Boston for her own protection and for some reason ran away. 'Faith' appeared after this, was called as a slayer,. And the rest is history."

In the background, a low roar was building.

"But my parents are dead! How do you know this?" demanded Faith/Dana "When did you meet them?"

"I know most of it from when I broke into your Father's office, pretty good security." Xander winked at her. Or possibly just blinked, it's hard to tell… "And the when, well I first met them when I was on my road-trip, but I didn't find out that _you _were their daughter until much later. Just before this Summer in fact."

"Huh?"

"Geez, you disappear after leaving your fiancé at the alter, and nobody wonders where you were. I'd met your parents on my road trip. After the wedding-that-wasn't, I needed to get away for a while. Your folks offered me a place to stay, I accepted. While there, I found an old picture of you. I confronted Harry about it, and he pinned me to a wall demanding I tell him where you were. Once Helen calmed him down and explained it to me, I told them some stuff about you."

"And they were disgusted with me…" muttered Faith disconsolately. "…why else wouldn't they get in contact?"

The roar was building in volume.

"Faith, no! They were so proud of you, but they didn't dare make contact."

"Why!"

"Because they've been made. Intelligence agencies worldwide now know about them. If they made contact, however covertly, they'd be putting you at risk if you were confined to a prison."

"oh."

"Yes, 'oh'. While they couldn't meet you, and a certain Law-firm managed to block three separate State Pardons before they became reality, you were watched over and guarded as best they could. When you busted out, you managed to disappear, again! Harry was pissed about _that_, I can tell you. Spence seemed proud, something about you having 'great potential'. I was going to tell you after the apocalypse, but as things escalated… so, buck up, it's reunion slash apocalypse time!"

Faith managed a watery smile. "They were proud of me?"

"Yes. Now, If my ears don't deceive me, and Harry told the truth regarding his travel plans, a jump-jet should be landing any-time now."

"Huh?"

"Xander, where is this 'jump-jet' thing going to land?" inquired Giles.

"Knowing Harry? In the street. He'll probably taxi up the drive though." answered Xander glibly.

The Taskers Jump-jet landed in the road, and taxied neatly up to the house. Buffy charged down the stairs, closely followed by Clark.

"We're under attack! Grab the weapons…"

As Buffy reached for the weapons chest, Clark grabbed her from behind.

"Hey! Let me go!"

"Buffy, calm down." placated Giles. "It would appear that these are more of Xander's allies…"

"He knows people who have jets!"

"…as well as being Faith's parents."

"Huh?"

"I am not entirely certain of the facts." Giles began "But it would appear…" as Giles led Buffy to the back room his voice faded out. Implicit in his actions was that he trusted Xander, both to do the right thing and to have accurately judged the others.

Xander moved to the front door and opened it. He skipped back with a yelp. A pair of Tasker shaped blurs thundered past him and engulfed their daughter in an enormous hug. Clark glanced at Xander, and seeing the slightly wistful grin on his face, cocked his head enquiringly. Xander responded with a whispered 'Let's leave them to it' that only Clarks super-hearing could hear. They crept out as silently as only two experienced fighters could. In the kitchen, Xander turned to Clark.

"Thanks for helping with Buffy man. I'd hoped she'd be calmer…"

"No problem Xan. Just don't leave me alone with the potentials _ever _again, and we're even."

"So that's a no to babysitting?"

From the living room came Harry's voice.

"Get back in here Harris!"

Xander grinned his 'what-the-hell' grin at Clark and re-entered the room, only to receive a punch in the face!

"I deserved that." Xander admitted, getting back up.

Wham! Another punch, this one to the mid-section.

"I may have deserved that." he commented.

Thud. A kick to the groin.

"I definitely didn't deserve that! No male deserves that!" Xander lectured/whined "I'm lucky I wear a cup! Well, not so much lucky as paranoid, but who cares? Now, why have I been attacked by each of you in turn?"

"You didn't tell me as soon as I arrived here Boytoy." stated Faith (the initial puncher) smugly.

"She's in a war with demons!" Harry (Punch no.2) exclaimed. "Though the kick was a bit much…"

"She called you Boytoy!" Helen (The kicker) shrieked.

"Oh boy." muttered Xander

As the four gathered round, another group hug ensued, this time including a tentative Xander. (He had his legs crossed.)

"Thank you for looking out for our little girl." murmured Helen.

"I didn't do that good a job of it." muttered Xander "Besides, she's pretty good at looking after herself."

Harry smiled tightly. "Next to having Dana kidnapped by a terrorist and standing about a foot away from a nuke, I'd say you did ok."

"What! Faith, you've been holding out on the stories…"

"I tried to forget that one…"

"Uh, I just had a thought. What should we call you? I mean, we know you as Faith, but you were born as Dana…"

"Um…" for the first time since, well, ever, Faith looked indecisive. As she opened her mouth, the sound of several helicopters passed low overhead.

"Oops, that must be Riley's team, or the SGC folks, or…hmm, how are Blade and Murphy getting here?" mused Xander as he jumped up and headed to the door. As he moved, he tossed Faith a set of keys.

"If you want some alone time with the folks, take off to my apartment for a while. Introductions should take a while here, maybe an hour or so. Your Dad's corresponded with most of them, so he can vouch for them if you need a second opinion. Well, except for Murph, but he's the solitary sort."

Harry Tasker snorted. "Murph? You mean the police, uh, man from Detroit?"

"Uh huh. Gotta go greet the guys now. Clark, get Buffy and Giles to join us out there would you?"

"Sure Harris."

* * *

Outside the Summers House

In the street, there was a bit of a problem. Two unmarked black and stealthed assault helicopters of a unfamiliar type were overhead, while a black Chinook transport 'copter was in the street. Also in the street were a pair of blue-grey Black Hawk copters with USAF markings. Between the two sets of grounded aircraft stood Colonel Jack O'Neill along with the rest of SG-1, and Lt Colonel Riley Finn and his five top teams, each comprised of ten experienced soldiers. As Xander walked over, the Chinook was lifting off and turned to head towards the Sunnydale Airport. As He came into earshot, he walked into an argument.

"…we have jurisdiction over all HST related events in the allied nations, as well as several others!" shouted Riley.

"Yeah, sure youbetcha. I outrank you Finn, therefore you tell me what I want to know."

"Jesus Jack, Riley, I thought it would take longer for inter-service friction to start up!" exclaimed Xander.

Both soldiers spun to face him,

"Harris…"

"Xander…"

And stopped short, staring at his eye-patch. Xander pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Is this going to happen every time I meet some of the guys?" he moaned to himself.

"What the hell happened to you!" barked Riley

"Yeah." seconded Jack

"Running with scissors is an accident waiting to happen." Xander deadpanned.

"Harris." growled Jack, as his team split their attention between the maimed man near them and the heavily armed group not far-enough-away.

"Fine, in our last fight, the avatar of the big bad decided my peripheral vision was far, far to good. One thumb later, and hey presto! The incredible Cyclops is ready for duty."

"Hell." both colonels muttered.

"That's what we're here to stop, remember?" joked Xander. "Jack, while I appreciate that you technically hold the higher rank, Riley here has the greater experience with what we'll face. Riley, Colonel O'Neill's group are 'in the know', and have access to some pretty spectacular weapons. They deal with 'H E T's' and together have us equalled in world saveages, and Dr Jackson alone in number of deaths which aren't permanent. I don't care how you relate to one another, just work it out before the…"

"Demon!" a blonde blur goes past him, headed straight for Teal'c. The Initiative soldiers quickly trained their guns on the SGC group. Giles appeared, not sure whether to stop his former charge or aid her.

"Why me lord, why me?" muttered Xander. "Buffy, NO!" he shouted, as he dived to stop her. Unfortunately, he wasn't fully adjusted to his changed depth perception as of yet, and missed.

"Seras!" he shouted from his new position on the ground.

In a flash the blonde Nosferatu was there.

"Stop her, please." he requested.

"Got it." Seras exclaimed. Moving so fast she was little more than a blur she grabbed Buffy from behind and yanked her back while Xander was pulling himself to his feet. Turning to Buffy, he glared.

"These are my friends. ALL of them! Stop attacking on reflex, it'll get you killed. As it happens, Teal'c is the unwilling host to an entity anyone would class as evil, but it's removal would result in his own, painful, death. Now damn well stand down!"

Then he whirled on the Initiative group.

"And you guys! Don't special ops groups gossip about each other anymore! They…" he pointed at SG-1 "…are SG-1, of the SGC!"

Mutters broke out among the Initiative squads, while Xander rounded on Jack and Riley.

"I'm expecting you to work together, along with a SWAT team that's coming in and a few independents I've rounded up, and the regular Sunnydale gang. The First is going to try to make us distrust one another, don't let it! We are all here to save the world, for no thanks and precious little compensation, so get to it! Or so help me, I'll arrange for a presidential order putting _Dutch Schaeffer_ in command!"

With two exceptions, those present stiffened to attention.

"I wish I could be that scary." muttered Jack.

"Indeed." agreed Teal'c, with Riley nodding along with them.

"Giles, please brief them on what little we know, what we suspect and the current situation. Faith and her folks might be at my apartment getting re-acquainted, if not please include them. Clark and Seras as well." he turned to Jack "Anyone in the second Chopper?"

"Yeah, Doc Fraser, and boy will you be in trouble when she sees you, two of her nurses and a portable field hospital."

"Great." interjected Riley "Half my group are trained Corpsmen, but we don't have any doctors." he turned to O'Neill "Want one of my teams to cover the FH?"

"How good are they?"

"I trust them." offered Xander

"Sounds good." accepted O'Neill "Maybe consolidate the Corpsmen within the forward units?"

"Let's move this inside shall we?" interrupted Xander "Riley, I suggest you ground your choppers till we know more, but that's just a suggestion." he glanced around "It's a good thing most of the towns left town, even in Sunnydale four military choppers in the street and a Harrier in the driveway wouldn't go unnoticed. The houses on either side are abandoned for at least three blocks each way. I have in my possession signed documents from the owners of the houses adjacent to Buffy's allowing their occupation by United States military personnel, so it's legal for you guys to set up shop."

"Cool."

"Good plan."

"Now there's only one question."

"What?"

"Which group gets the house with a Jacuzzi?"

* * *

Outside Summers household - 10.15am

"I don't believe you lost the directions, Deke!" exclaimed Street.

"I don't believe this guy can call together his own air force." muttered Hondo.

"Hmm, Omega Delta, the Tasker's and…the SGC. Probably. Blade as well, perhaps Police Girl and Kent." mused Jarod.

* * *

Outside Summers household - 11.00am

-_Four helicopters and a jet, two SWAT SUV's, Harris must be really worried_- mused Blade as he pulled up in his car

* * *

Outside Summers household - 11.30am

"We have arrived. It would appear that other back-up has responded." stated Murphy to his companion, a laconic young man who'd only recently joined OCP. Record indicated he hailed from the town and so was a logical choice to accompany RoboCop to Sunnydale.

"Hmm."

* * *

Ok, everyone's arrived, I think. (If you think I've lost track of anyone, tell me! Please!) There'll be a big meet 'n' greet next chapter. I apologise if your favourite character didn't get much of a look in, I hadn't anticipated just how many characters I'd have to juggle with this one. If you're desperately unhappy, tell me and I'll see what I can do. I'm currently thinking of most of Riley's guys as 'red-shirts' mostly, any problems with that? Not through incompetence, but because I'm not killing off any of the others, I'd have to flame _myself_ if I killed O'Neill or Blade or Faith etc. I can't decide whether to retain Spike and Anya's deaths as close to canon as possible, so tell me what you think. Well, you've read, so now please review. 


	5. Chapter 5

Once again, I own none of these characters. I was able to borrow them, but will be forced to return them in pristine condition. Thanks to all reviewers, it would appear that you guy's like me, you really like me (Or at least my stories.). Apologies for the delay in updating, my access to the internet is spotty right now. Here we go…..

* * *

Summers Household - 11.34 am

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Buffy tensed at the sound of heavy blows on her front door.

"Is this another of your 'friends'?" she asked Xander tartly.

"Clark?"

"It's Murph. And someone I don't know…" answered Krypton's Last Son.

"Then yes, Buffy, he is." stated Xander as he went to open the door.

Buffy turned to Willow "Somehow I think that Xander's been keeping secrets" she murmured.

"Don't we all?" queried the Wiccan.

* * *

Robocop and his attendant were waiting patiently at the Summers door.

It opened.

"Hi Murph…OZ!" exclaimed Xander. "It's great to see both of you!" Xander's grin was so wide he was in danger of it meeting at the back of his head.

"Citizen Harris." was Robocop's greeting.

"Hi. Eye?" Oz queried laconically.

"Evil Preacher." Xander replied. "Come in, come in. You're the last folks to arrive."

As they entered the house, Xander pulled Oz to one side. "Hey man, um, Tara was killed a while ago. Willow is with someone new, a girl called Kennedy. You're not going to, you know, wolf-out are ya?"

"All is good." Oz replied cryptically.

"Alrighty then."

As the three entered the living room they found it packed with people. Riley and his 2IC, SG-1 plus Dr Frasier, Blade, the Scoobies, Faith and her parents, Seras, Clark, with Hondo and Street representing SWAT were crowded in. The bulk of the Initiative soldiers were settling in next door (They'd won the coin toss, and the Jacuzzi…) and setting up the SGC field Hospital under the direction of Frasier's Nurse. All were surprised by Xander's companions, the cyborg nature of Robocop combined with the, unusual, colour of Oz's hair was a stark contrast.

"Oz!" exclaimed Willow, moving to hug him so fast that Giles worried briefly that she'd teleported by Magic.

Giles spoke up. "Xander, while we'd be fools not to appreciate these extensive re-enforcements, I would appreciate introductions. So far we've merely overheard your greetings and exchanged small-talk."

"Fair enough. Guys?"

There were murmurs of assent from the assembled group.

"Ok, Well, you already know Riley and his team. For the rest of you, Riley and Samantha Finn head the UN's demon hunting team 'Omega Delta', formerly the 'Initiative'. Next to them is SG-1, made up of Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, Dr Daniel Jackson and Teal'c. They work for the SGC and work from NORAD. They have access to advanced weapons and technology. With them is Dr Janet Frasier, their bases Chief Medical Officer. They've also been so good as to provide a field hospital for our use."

"What sort of experience do they have?" asked Buffy snottily "Killing vamps isn't a job for people with gun-fixations you know!"

"They routinely fight creatures more dangerous than vampires, have saved the world several times and are carrying vamp-killer ammo for their guns. Daniel alone has you beat for death's of the non-permanent persuasion." explained Xander "Next we have Blade, a Dhampire known as the Daywalker. He normally works out of New York city and deals with Vampires who've integrated with human society. He also has a world savage or two under his belt, and doesn't talk much."

"The Daywalker…" squealed Dawn (who'd stayed against Buffy's protests) excitedly "I've read about him! He was prophesized to banish the Blood God from existence…"

"Done." Interrupted Blade.

"Cool!"

"Our special guests here with us for this apocalypse are Harry and Helen Tasker…" Xander cut the Dhampire off before in-depth explanations were requested and ignored "…who are top covert operatives, parents to Faith and who've dealt with weird shit many times. Apparently, Faith's held out on us, there's a story in which she was a foot away from a nuke when younger." he grinned at Faith's sudden outraged expression. "Anyone tempted to keep them out of it, please take it up with Harry."

Harry Tasker loomed over everyone else there. "Try it."

"Here we have Officer Seras Victoria, liaison to a British organisation dedicated to the elimination of Vampires. She herself is a Mideon based vampire who retained her soul when turned, hence her working for the good guys."

Seras was appraised by the others in the room, Blade had started at her being 'Mideon', but it was apparent that if Xander trusted her, she would be given the benefit of the doubt. For now.

"Clark Kent, native of Smallville, Kansas, is gifted with immense strength, speed and hearing, he also has 'heat' and 'x-ray' vision. He is virtually invulnerable to harm. Oh, and he can fly."

"How can any human be capable of all that?" asked Riley.

Xander glanced at Clark, who nodded.

"Who said he was human? He has another name, his birth-parents named him Kal-El, and he is the last survivor of the Planet Krypton, which exploded about three decades ago."

There was a stunned silence.

"His birth-father, Jor-El by name, sent him here as a baby, intending that Clark here conquer the world and rule as Emperor of all Earth…" Several of the groups eye's had narrowed at that "luckily for us he was found and raised by two of the best people it has been my privilege to have met, Jonathon and Martha Kent. He spends his time dealing with people who gain and abuse fantastic powers in his hometown."

"Which is how many?" queried Colonel O'Neill.

"About one an week for the past four or five years." replied Clark. In the background, Daniel was muttering excitedly to Teal'c, Willow's jaw had dropped, Dawn was grinning and Giles' glasses were being given a thorough polishing.

"Hondo Harrelson and Jim Street, plus their SWAT team are on loan from the LAPD and are equipped with vamp-killing ammunition and tactics."

Street spoke up "Hey Harris, you know anyone by the name of Jarod?"

"Sure. Why?"

"There's a Jarod Harrison on our SWAT team, seemed to know a lot about you guys and the allies you've called in." explained Hondo. Xander's grin was scary.

"Also present with SWAT is the smartest man on the planet, probably off it too. Jarod, no last name, is an escapee from a Centre experimenting with genetic manipulation. He can 'simulate' any mindset so completely, that he becomes that person. He can read a book on surgery and perform operations that afternoon for instance. He's still being chased, so keep this amongst ourselves please. That means no reports."

"Cool." threw in O'Neill.

"Finally, we have Officer Murphy of the Detroit Police Department. He was killed in the line of duty by drug lords and was resurrected in his current form by Omni-Consumer-Product, or OCP. His shell is layered Kevlar and titanium, has increased strength on a par with a vamp and he's a crack shot. Accompanying him is Daniel 'Oz' Osborne, former 'Scooby' and Werewolf, though I understand he can now control the change." Xander then gestured from the assembled to the assembled Scooby Gang.

"Everyone, this is the current incarnation of our very own Scooby Gang. Buffy Summers, longest running Vampire Slayer. Rupert Giles, Watcher at large, quite possibly the last. Willow Rosenberg, researcher extraordinaire. Dawn Summers, Buffy's younger sister, who thinks that her formation of a 'Scrappy' gang at the High School has gone unnoticed. Myself, freelance carpenter and general funny guy. Anya Emerson, former vengeance demon and co-owner of the Magic Box with Giles. Faith Tasker, longest lived Slayer that we know of. Robin Wood, son of Nikki Wood the Vampire Slayer, Demon Hunter and Principal of Sunnydale High School."

Xander glanced around.

"Absent are Andrew Wells, uh, what does he do…? And the ensouled Vampire, Spike, aka William the Bloody Awful Poet. Both appear to be on our side, but I personally wouldn't trust Spike further than I could throw him." Xander ignored Buffy's shriek of protest. "Upstairs are a dozen or so potential slayers, who need protection from both Bringers and Turok-han. Opposed to us is a being known as the First Evil. It can assume the shape of anyone whose dead and is an expert at psychological warfare, expect to see loved ones lost, comrades failed etc. Remember that it's not them and you'll be fine."

Xander turned to face the room at large.

"One last thing. There are other groups in the world who are acting as back-up and will hold the line if we fall. We do not have the option of failing for another reason. If the demons get a foothold on the earth, it will take a prolonged war to force them back. Thousands and millions of death's on our heads. We can stop the monsters from coming out from under the bed. We will kick the bogeyman's ass. We will stop this world becoming one, damned, inch, worse! I say this, not because I know or believe something you do not, but because I remember. I remember, that for untold thousands of years man has fought demon, and I remember, we are still _here_!" By the end, Xander's voice was raised, carrying to the potentials upstairs. The living room erupted with a roar of approval (Except for Oz and Blade, who don't do that sort of thing. oh, and Robocop because he can't. And Xander because it was his speech.) as did the open area at the top of the stairs where most of the Potentials were listening in.

The Cavalry had arrived.

Pity the bad guys.

* * *

So, what do you think? 


	6. Chapter 6

I can only beg your forgiveness for the delay, but the Cavalry is back!

If I owned these guys, this would be on TV and not here!

* * *

"And that's where we are now." Xander was just finishing a more detailed briefing of the situation and the events leading up to it to his visiting friends. Jarod had been called in, while Frasier had been absent for a period to give the SiT's a check up. Apart from Dawn, the rest of the Scoobies were out back, training the SiT's, at least, those who Frasier had cleared for it. "Any questions?"

"Yes. _What the hell were you thinking putting those girls in the line of fire!_" Frasier's shout made everyone present wonder how a woman so small could have a voice so loud. They also wondered what Xander's answer would be (and if it would save him from the doc!).

Xander glanced away, then looked Frasier right in the eye.

"The best we could." He said quietly. "Which with hindsight wasn't good enough. In our defence, we are unused to this sort of prolonged campaign. We needed troops. They were here and we drafted them." He looked down at his chest with his sole remaining eye. "May god forgive us."

Frasier looked to be on the verge of an explosion of anger which would rival an atomic bomb.

"Doctor Frasier." Interrupted Jarod. "If I may draw your attention to a couple of points?"

Janet subsided, for now. "Very well, Mr Harrison."

"Like most of you here, I know the brief history of the, heh, 'Scooby Gang'. I don't know how many of you did this, but I researched further. Unlike most of my experience on 'pretends', these people have been involved in the front-lines of a war since the age of fifteen. Seven years of constant combat. No down-time, no leave, no hope of winning, just of holding the line. And they've done it. With no recognition, no reward and with the loss of friend and ally alike. Before this, they faced enemies who could be fought directly, with stake, axe, crossbow and bazooka, and fought as a small group who trusted one another absolutely. For the first time, their enemy was impossible to harm, their ranks were swollen with untrained adolescents demanding protection. It is a tragedy that some of those teenager's have died, and it is the responsibility of those in command at that point, but not their fault. It is the fault of the First, who chose to attempt to bring about the apocalypse, not those who do their best to thwart it." Jarod grinned at the room "Besides, I don't think anyone here can claim Xander didn't give his all to protect them."

Frasier looked uncomfortable at the barb and its obvious reference to Xander's maiming at Caleb's hands, but resolute. "And why are they out there, learning to kill, instead of in school?"

Xander's head shot up. "Don't lay that on us! It's some 'higher power' that chose those girls as potentials, not us. As for why they're still training with you guy's here, on the Hellmouth there's no such thing as too much self-defence training."

Riley spoke up "But they're still going to be committed to battle." He was neither condemning, nor supportive, just curious.

Xander glanced around the room. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm hoping that with you guys here I can convince Buffy to leave them somewhere safe, or at least as mop-up troops with the rest of us on the front line. They'll be safer that way than now."

"Not good enough." Announced O'Neill "These kids have no business fighting a war. I can have transport for all of them here within the hour; get them out of Sunnydale and somewhere safe."

"Won't work." This was Xander.

"Why not?" queried Hondo.

"There are factions of the government who would love to get their hands on them. The guys behind the Initiative…" Riley glanced away "…the NID…" SG1 looked uncomfortable "…and the Centre. There isn't much any of those groups wouldn't do to get the girls, and I don't intend to allow them to fulfil those desires."

The group looked accepting of his reasons, but he had more.

"Besides, I don't think Buffy trusts you guys yet, and you'd better believe she wouldn't like anyone taking her 'soldiers' away. She'll assume either; a) you're attempting a coup, or b) the government wants to experiment on them. Either way, she won't let them go without a fight."

"I guess we can all understand that." Put in Clark. "So, what, specifically, do you want us to do? This is the biggest concentration of the Network that I've heard of."

Xander grinned evilly "I figure that with Jarod here to do the planning, Riley's teams and SG1, not to mention the rest of us here, could do a little investigation, followed by a good bit of extermination."

There was a rumble of assent.

Jarod glanced around the room, everyone seemed willing to defer to Xander's idea, though O'Neill did seem a bit dubious.

"Um, Xand? Do you think Buffy's gonna go for this?" Dawn asked timidly, not wanting to embarrass him in front of his friends, but aware that her sister could out-stubborn almost anyone these days.

"She has to. As Jarod said, we've never faced a threat like this before. This is bigger than anything the Scoobies have faced alone." Xander looked at Dawn "Bring your 'Scrappies' around tomorrow…" O'Neill looked thunderous. "…for self-defence training. Maybe a weapon on the understanding they don't go looking for trouble."

Jarod spoke up, interim plans having been made in less than a minute.

"Alright, let's get to work. Mr and Mrs Tasker, if you could get with Mr Giles and double-check everything we know to date. Colonel O'Neill, Lt. Colonel Finn and Sergeant Harrelson, if you could work with me on some tentative plans. Xander, you join us for your background knowledge of Sunnydale. Ms. Victoria, Mr Kent, I want an in-depth search of the surrounding six blocks as soon as possible. Officer Murphy, you and Mr Osborne keep an eye on the potentials for now. Mr, uh, Blade, I would appreciate you assisting with the potentials training. Dr Frasier, if you make a list of what medical supplies you think we might need, we can see about getting it for you. Everyone else, get some down-time." He looked around at the predominantly amazed group. "Let's move it people."

They scattered.

* * *

"So, Seras."

"Yes Clark?"

"Want to split the area? I could take the western half and you the eastern." The young kryptonian offered.

"Sure thing." She grinned at him. "We could even make it a race."

"Well, if you want…"

"Go."

The two raced off into Sunnydale.

* * *

"So the First may or may not be the actual 'First Evil'? Helen pressed Giles.

"It is unclear. Even the Watcher's council archives were spotty regarding anything preceding the existence of the slayer. We have everything I could find, and with the destruction of the Council, this is all that we've got." Giles gestured to the pitiful pile of books on the table which Harry was studying.

* * *

"Move it maggot!" barked Kennedy at an unfortunate potential.

"Hold it." The bass growl of Blade cut through the sounds of training. The potentials turned to look at him. "This is a war, not a war movie. This kata stuff won't help you in a melee in anything less than a year." He looked at Kennedy "Harris asked me to help train you kids, so get in line. Kennedy got. Blade pulled his sword. "This is a titanium blade, acid etched." He tossed it to Rona. "You touch me with it, you get a free pass from training."

Rona moved…

* * *

Dr Frasier had double-checked her inventory (or rather, got one of her assistants to do it.)

"Hmm, more bandages, disinfectant, stitches, morphine…" she muttered to herself "God I'm glad Cassie wasn't chosen…"

* * *

"Mmm… Jacuzzi."

* * *

"Ideas?" Jarod requested from the other four.

"There's something odd at the old vineyard." Offered Xander. "Buffy mentioned it last night, if the Seal is the centre of the First's plan, why are they gathered here?" He gestured at the map of Sunnydale they'd spread on the table. He was off by an inch.

"Unusual HST activity is a good way of identifying a threat, but what if it was just bait for a trap?" queried Riley.

"Me and my team could do a quick recon, if they're still there it's an indication they're there for a reason." Suggested O'Neill.

"Good idea Jack, but it should be my team, accompanied by Harris, which goes in." stated Hondo.

"And LA SWAT trumps United States Air Force how?" snarked O'Neill.

"Simple, we're less intimidating to them. You've got those funky alien guns of yours, which could scare them off for the short term, but have them prepare to deal with. My team's guns should be a nasty surprise, but any plans to counter them will still get cut up by you guys later. And Harris can give us another edge. Local knowledge and all that, plus his greater familiarity with the supernatural."

"No."

They all stared at Xander.

"Hondo's got it almost perfect, but he got something wrong."

"And what's that?" Hondo asked.

"Me. I can't accompany you."

"Why's that?" queried O'Neill.

Jarod answered for Xander, who looked uncomfortable. "His eye. It's a very recent wound that he has yet to learn to compensate for. He missed the vineyards position on the map by an inch. Not to mention the fact that he's currently on heavy pain meds. He can advise us here, but for the present Xander is off active combat status."

The others nodded in agreement. There was a flurry of activity from outside the room and Buffy stalked in.

"What do you think you're doing, having a planning session without me!" she seemed annoyed.

"Listen here…" Hondo began and Riley flinched.

"Buff. Stop." The command in Xander's tone is enough to stop her in her tracks (an impressive feat in itself!) and for O'Neill and Riley to stiffen to attention. Xander looked haggard, the events of the last few months finally becoming apparent on his face. "Yes, we were discussing options and have a rough course of action worked out for the immediate future. So?"

"Xander, I'm the Slayer, I'm in charge. We can't have people going off half-cocked on half-baked missions with you in charge!"

Jarod and O'Neill looked angry at the assertion that they would go off 'half-cocked', Riley looked uncomfortable and Hondo looked inscrutable. Xander looked weary.

"Buff, I'm not leading anything right now. In fact, right now, I'm not capable of moving that well. The pain meds don't do that much for my co-ordination you know…"

Behind Buffy, Dr Frasier had entered the room.

"So don't take them." Buffy's quick response triggered Mount Frasier.

"WHAT!" Frasier exploded "HOW DARE YOU SUGGEST HE STOP TAKING HIS MEDS! WHAT KIND OF FRIEND ARE YOU THAT TREATS HIS PAIN AS AN INCONVENIENCE!"

The others had retreated, but Buffy stood firm (The eternal Bravery / Stupidity debate raises its head at this point.).

"I need everyone at their best for the fight, if his meds stop him fighting, he needs to stop taking them, suck it up, and help. Besides, I have a mission for him."

"Which is?" inquired Xander.

"I want you to take Dawn over to LA, look after her until this thing blows over." Stated Buffy.

"No can do Buffmeister, I'm staying right here."

"You can use…WHAT!" Buffy screeched.

"This guy's going nowhere. I mean, massive battle against the forces of darkness, where else is this carpenter gonna be?"

"Somewhere where his _single eye_ isn't going to compromise my battle plans!" It is only fair to point out that Buffy wasn't trying to belittle Xander, nor under-cut him in front of his friends. She just didn't consider the pain such a declaration would cause him, or the potential damage said declaration might do to the bonds between Xander's friends and herself.

"Be quiet, Buffy." This, surprisingly, didn't issue from Xander (Who was looking crestfallen at his dismissal by Buffy.), nor from Dawn (who was literally struck dumb at her sisters insensitivity), but from Lt. Colonel Riley Finn. "I don't know what's happened to you since we last met, but this is ridiculous. Everything I know about the Scoobies tells me none of them would desert you to a battle this big, you should know that! Since I've arrived, you've belittled Xander no less than seven times, despite his obvious commitment to you and the others staying here. He arranged for us to come to your aid when an ordinary man would be packing his things and moving to Mexico. Now sit down and help, or get out of the way!"

Buffy was reduced to spluttering incoherence, while the potentials (and Blade) who'd been eavesdropping were delighted to have another person present stand up to the general. Blade was pleased to note that Buffy seemed alone in her assessment of Xander's usefulness.

"Look, Riley, you of all people should know what happens when people not ready to face the realities of the supernatural try to do their thing on the Hellmouth." Stated Buffy "Now, I appreciate that you've all come a long way to help out, but that's just it, you're here to help out, while me and mine sort out the big bad that's here to end the world, just like last time and the time before that and the time before that. If you can't accept the realities here, you're the ones who need to leave."

Jack leant over to Jarod, the nearest person to him, during this little tirade. "Is this really the same Buffy who Harris described to, well, my team and, I guess, everyone else in his little 'network'?" he whispered.

"Yes. My research, and Xander's own stories, all contain the seeds of the current behaviour shown by Ms. Summers. While simple gratitude compels us to appreciate her efforts over the years, it won't take much more of this for her own group to oust her from command, an experience which she will little tolerate."

"Then it's up to us." Jack leant back, then spoke to the sole Slayer occupant in the room. "Miss Summers, while I appreciate that your group has prevented the End of Days several times now, that is really irrelevant to the current situation. Harris here has told us all a little about you, and Col. Finn has been good enough to elaborate on it since we arrived. While you are supremely suited to combat with the creatures that inhabit Sunnydale, by what right do you command?"

"What?"

"Were you elected? No. Were you promoted by an experienced superior? No. Did your…" Jack grimaced a little "…mystical upgrades enhance your tactical or strategic abilities? No. In fact, you have no inherent right to command that either I or other outsiders can see…"

"I'm the Slayer!"

"I covered that. You're efforts over the years demonstrate your competence at the mission you were 'Chosen' for. Commanding an army wasn't part of that."

"The Slayer led humanity to kick out demon kind in the realms of pre-history!"

"Actually, she didn't." Heads swung towards the new voice in the debate. "While the chronicles do not describe exactly how it was achieved, the demonic creatures of that time were cast out by a human army, aided by mages, witches and spell-casters, all led by the 'Protector of Man', Alexander in its modern form. The Slayer was created shortly afterward by the Shadow Men, in a misguided attempt to fight fire with fire once the existence of Vampires had become apparent to mankind. By 'shortly', I mean around a thousand years later." The mans accent was English, his bearing that of a man who'd seen too much. He wore a battered trenchcoat over an off-white shirt and a loose black tie. Dark trousers and black boots completed the ensemble. He carried what looked to be a shotgun in the form of a crucifix, a couple of vials of holy water and a short stick with a dragon's head on one end.

"Constantine, John Constantine, at your service." The man introduced himself in response to the assembled incredulous glares, "Now, where's Ripper? Oh, and I've got a message for an Alexander Harris, he here?"

* * *

Merciful heavens, I am evil. Evil evil evil. A cliffhanger after that gap between updates. Tee hee hee. By the way, for those interested, Constantine will be a fusion of the comic and movie version. I preferred the character in the movie to the comic (he's a pillock in the comics by my estimation), but by god, Constantine is English, and so he shall remain! 


	7. Chapter 7

Just to re-assure you, good readers, Xander isn't Custer and his 'Network' isn't the 7th Cavalry. I've also just realised I have two 'Sam's', Samantha Carter (SG-1) and Samantha Finn (Riley's wife.). To reduce confusion, Samantha Carter will be referred to as 'Carter' while Samantha Finn will be 'Sam', Ok? Finally, I goofed. I said that Riley brought his 'three' top teams, instead of 'five' top teams. I've uploaded a new chapter 4 with that difference, but that's the only difference in there, so no need to re-read it (unless you want to of course.).

Once again, I re-iterate that I own not the characters portrayed within.

* * *

"_Constantine, John Constantine, at your service." The man introduced himself in response to the assembled incredulous glares, "Now, where's Ripper? Oh, and I've got a message for an Alexander Harris, he here?"_

* * *

"Who the hell are you! How did you get past Officer Murphy and Mr Osborne!" exclaimed O'Neill, while training his zat at the intruder. Riley and Hondo did likewise with their sidearms whilst the others cleared their field of fire.

"Constantine, John Constantine. I believe I said that earlier. As to how I got in here, someone left the front door open. Now, where's Rupert Giles?"

"How do we know he'd want to see you? The only other person we've met who called Giles 'Ripper' was..." Xander began.

"John!" Giles swept into the room with a huge grin on his face and pulled Constantine into a (manly) hug. "It's so good to see you. How's the exorcism business?"

"It's picked up of late, but then you already know that."

"Yes, well…"

"Giles, how about some introductions for the rest of us?" Buffy sounded annoyed.

"Everyone, this is John Constantine. Premier exorcist in the world and a former protégé of mine. Word has it, that he's the one soul that the Devil himself would come to collect personally."

"And why would he be here?" inquired Jarod.

"Xander isn't the only one who thought we might need a bit more muscle." Giles responded.

"Things are more serious than your message suggested Rupert. Six weeks ago I had to deport Mammon. Gabriel was helping him to cross over. They had the Spear of Destiny, Rupert."

"Dear Lord. If Gabriel can fall that far…"

"Gabriel wasn't exactly fallen. The half-breed was insane, not evil."

"I'm not sure that's much of a comfort." Giles commented dryly.

"True. Rupert, aside from me and Poppa Midnight, there's no-one else left."

"What!" Giles was visibly staggered.

"Balthazar had them killed. It was only with a _Hell_ of a lot of luck I was able to arrange Mammon's deportation. Gabriel killed Chaz after he helped me stop Mammon just ripping his way through."

"I'm sorry John. I know how much the young man meant to you. How much they all meant to you." Giles' tone was sober.

"So he stopped a big bad. We do that monthly!" Buffy exclaimed "If he relies on that cross-gun-thing he won't last long!"

"You're wrong Buff. If his equipment works, and even if it doesn't, he's welcome. We need all the help we can get this time. And he won't go down before any of the rest of us, because we'll be working as a team." Xander's voice had recovered a lot of its vitality. "Now, Spike and Andrew are due back tonight, hopefully with some background on Caleb. I suggest that Hondo's team take Faith and go on a quiet recon of the Vineyard. The rest of us can work on planning the next step. That is, if Hondo doesn't mind leaving the mission planning to us."

"We're on it Harris. And so long as we can express any concerns we might have before the missions a go, I've got no problems. Got any floor plans for this vineyard place?"

"Thanks Hondo, and Willow does. Probably in multiple formats. Faith's in the backyard, see if she'll go with you."

"But…" spluttered Buffy.

"Not now. Constantine, you're an exorcist, right?" Xander continued

"Yes."

"Can you rig up some protection for the house? A sort of 'do not enter' to keep the First out?"

"I can try. At the very least, I can detect it if it's here."

"Good. Giles, gather everyone else in the lounge. It's time to plan."

Hondo assembled his team (Street, Sanchez, Boxer and Deke, along with Jarod and himself), asked Faith if she'd like to 'accompany them as their guide to the high points of the local vineyard'. Faith agreed and left with them, 'forgetting' to break it to her parents. Oh well…

* * *

Everyone else gathered in the lounge, Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Robin Wood, Jack, Carter, Daniel, Teal'c, Janet, Riley, Sam, their team leaders (4), Murphy, Oz, Blade, Seras, Clark, Anya, Harry, Helen and the Potentials. Constantine walked in last, and nodded at Xander.

It was a tad crowded.

There was a bit of a hubbub, with the various groups talking amongst themselves.

Xander made his way over to Constantine, who was conversing with Giles.

"Mr Constantine, is the First blocked or will you get a warning."

"Kid, the ward I put up should stop anything with evil intent from appearing. Just in case I've got these." Constantine held up a handful of delicately carved stones for Xander's perusal "These are Armenian watch-gems, if anything is watching or listening through supernatural means, they glow. Enhanced hearing doesn't trigger them, but scrying spells will, as should the First."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, could you direct me to Alexander LaVelle Harris? I've been given an important message for him."

"Aw, jeez. Look, I'm Xander Harris. Tell me after the planning session wouldja."

"Allright. I just hope it won't be too late by then."

Xander turned to face the room, crowded with all of its occupants.

"Quiet down please people. We need to come up with some plans. First, assuming Hondo's team are successful and they return safely, what are our possible actions? Second, assuming our people come back with information which is confirmation rather than new data, what is our next move? Third, and final for now, how shall we deal with the massive army of Turok-Han behind the seal?"

There was a burst of instructions / suggestions from, well, everybody.

"Quiet!" shouted Xander "Jeez, with no offence meant to Principal Wood, I'll have to treat you like school kids. Jack, you're up."

Colonel O'Neill straightened up. "Regarding the first, there are the classics. We can attempt an assault. We can attempt to blockade their position. We can send in an assassin. Finally, we try to draw them out and fight them on ground of our own choosing. With the second, we need to take out any pockets of enemy fighters/informants we know of before moving against either the vineyard or the Seal. For the third, well, I'm partial to explosives, lots and lots of explosives."

"Thank you Colonel. Riley?"

The former Scooby looked up. "Blockade would be worse than useless; it would tie up our people, likely in detachments unable to confront the enemy in any real numbers. An assassin is also unfeasible. Caleb took out Buffy, Faith, Spike and you. Is there any one person here more capable than you four acting together? I don't think so. Eliminating HST hold-outs is a good idea though. And I'd suggest napalm rather than explosives, though I can get behind the 'lots and lots' theory."

"Much obliged. Harry?"

"We're working on limited data against a powerful foe. A defensive stance is best if we believe we can withstand the forces against us until we're re-enforced. If we're not going to be re-enforced, we'd best attack before the enemy is ready and hope for victory."

"Good point. Murphy?"

"These creatures are guilty of mass-murder and conspiracy to commit mass terrorism. The death penalty is mandated. Initial target should be the head of the creatures, allowing the mopping up of its servants."

"Very well. Blade?"

"I've yet to meet a demon I can't kill in a fight. Strike at the underlings now and we'll reduce our opposition later."

"Excellent point. Seras?"

"I'm not much for the strategy side of things, but we should post a watch on the Seal on Danzalthar to give us a warning if any bloke opens it."

"We should have thought of that a while back. Clark?"

"Until the guys get back, we can't have our plans set in stone, but could we take the fight inside the seal itself, attack where they feel safe and away from any innocents?"

"An idea worth considering. Constantine?"

"My expertise lies in exorcisms, but sanctifying the schools sprinkler tanks couldn't hurt."

"We'll see what we can do. Scoobies?"

"I like the 'into the seal' idea." Stated Buffy.

"Caleb first, while a group protects the seal. One threat at a time." Suggested Giles.

"More points to consider. Potentials?"

"What do they know?" snorted Buffy, annoying a lot of the potentials even further (quite a feat really.)

"What we taught them." Stated Giles.

"But with their own perspectives." Added Xander. "Potentials?"

Kennedy stepped forward "We've been talking a bit and well, we want to help. The problem is we're not on a par with any of you. You're all better trained, more experienced, stronger, or have abilities beyond those of normal people. We trust you guy's to make the right decisions, now, so all I can say is we want to fight. Maybe we could support Colonel Finn's people, thicken the lines a bit."

"Thank you Kennedy."

"But you're potentials!" spluttered Buffy "destined to become Slayers!"

"But not yet." Stated Giles grimly. "Not while you and Faith still live, and with us here, you're both going to be around for a while yet."

"Hear hear." Offered Dawn softly "I'd like to join the potentials with Riley's troops, if they'll have me."

"Seras, would you mind going and keeping a watch on the Seal? One of us will be along in no more than two hours to relieve you."

"Sure Xander." And the Mideon vanished.

"I'll never get used to that." Muttered the carpenter to himself "ok, we need a small contingent to guard the seal when we move against the vineyard. Riley, can you spare a couple of teams?"

"I guess, but if Caleb slips past your assault, he might be able to take us."

"Good point. Murphy, Oz, Blade, how'd you guys feel about joining the Seal force?"

"Protecting the Innocent. I agree."

"Sure."

"I agree, provided I can patrol the grounds." Growled Blade.

Riley briefly conferred with his Team 3 and Team 4 commanders. "That's fine, so long as you come if we're attacked."

"Of course." Was the Dhampire's only reply.

"I should probably go as well." Offered Constantine "I can get a rough idea of how strong the seal is, what it would take to open or close it."

"Riley?"

"If he brings that 'Holy Shotgun' of his, he's welcome."

"Ok Constantine, you're in with the Seal group. If any of you get hurt, please try not to bleed on it."

"Doc, how's the field hospital?" queried the one eyed man.

"All set up and staffed next door. I am aware that we need to guard this 'Seal' and have people for offensive operations, but the Field Hospital will need some protection as well, from the First's forces as well as any civilian crooks who try anything."

Xander frowned in thought, glancing around the room and assessing available assets. "Riley, you have three teams still available, right?"

"Yeah, My team, Team 2 and Team 5."

"Would two teams be enough for you in combat? Could you leave a team to guard the FH?"

"Yes, I think so. I'll detail Team 5 for that duty. That good enough?"

"Doc?"

"I'd prefer more defenders, we'll probably have wounded before to long. Hell, I've got some of the potentials in there already!"

Xander had a brain-wave so fantastic that he would later say no less than _eight_ prayers of thanks for _divine_ inspiration.

"We could give you most of the Potentials, Mrs Tasker, Andrew and maybe Spike for a bit of supernatural muscle. Not our most talented individuals, but it's a good team." He turned his gaze to O'Neill "Hey Jacky boy, could you spare Maj. Carter for tactical command of the FH's defences?"

Jack considered it, and then looked over his team. He couldn't spare Teal'c, his Staff weapon was likely to be needed. Daniel, while much better than he'd started out as, didn't have the skills to command a detachment of disparate groups in a defensive formation. Carter was invaluable in the field, an excellent soldier and tactician. Some of her best skills related to technology though, not overt assaults on superior numbers of supernatural entities. While he'd be damned before letting his team go off to face a threat while he baby-sat the wounded!

"Carter, you up for it?" He could see her thoughts had paralleled his, a skill which helped her as his 2IC.

"I'd rather accompany the rest of SG-1 sir, but I can see why it would have to be me rather than Teal'c or Daniel. I can do it Colonel."

"Thanks Carter."

Riley spoke up "Colonel O'Neill, the commander of Team 5 is a senior Major himself. It wouldn't be right to have an officer junior to him give him orders in front of his team. That's no slur on the Major, we've all heard rumours of SG-1's successes, but he'll need to maintain discipline after this, and it might set a bad precedent."

"And what do you suggest Colonel Finn?"

It wasn't Riley who answered, but rather Team 5's commanding officer. "Colonel O'Neill, you're the most senior officer present right?"

"Yes Major…Thompson." The pause was for Jack to read the Marines name tag.

"Brevet her to Lt. Colonel and appoint me her 2IC for the duration. She'll have the rank to keep the chain of command clear, I'll be able to advise her of the specifics of what we might face and future unit discipline will be maintained. As Colonel Finn said, we've all heard of SG-1 and their crack 2IC."

"Thanks Thompson, I like it. Carter, consider yourself brevetted. I'll dig you out some rank insignia's after the meeting."

Carter was looking a bit stunned. Not a surprise really.

Xander jumped in, he'd sat that out because, hey, it was a military decision and he wasn't military. "Ok, we have Riley's Team 3 and Team 4, plus Murphy, Oz, Blade and Constantine for protecting the Seal. Team 5, most of the potentials, Mrs Tasker, Andrew and likely Spike to protect the Field Hospital under the command of Brevet Lt. Colonel Carter. Meanwhile, the rest of us get to grind the First's forces into dog-meat. I'm not going to tell you how to do your jobs, just pay attention to each others experiences and trust your group. Seal and FH groups can start planning their positions and tactics now. Colonel Finn here has kindly provided sufficient encrypted radios for us to each have one. The effective range is about 1.5 kilometres, so each group will be assigned a more powerful backpack based re-transmission unit provided by the good Colonel O'Neill for inter-team communication when we're all in the field. In an astonishing display of foresightedness, their equipment is compatible. The rest of us will wait until Hondo's group, Spike and Andrew get back. We need more info and Jarod's brain to be as effective as possible. I'd like the Seal team to move out as soon as it's possible to do so safely. That's it for now, get back to what you were doing, or start planning or something."

* * *

As the gathering dispersed, Xander himself headed to the basement, pushing the door closed firmly behind him (He would have locked it, but he didn't have the key.) and headed down the stairs.

"Door."

A glowing rectangular gold-coloured portal appeared in front of him and he tossed a recording device through it. The portal disappeared as quickly as it appeared and he was left alone in the basement."

"Impressive. There aren't many people who could conjure a portal this close to Rupert and not alert him"

Xander spun to find Constantine studying him curiously.

"We all have our secrets Mr Constantine." Said Xander through a tight smile.

"True, and you can drop the 'Mr'. Call me John or Constantine."

"Only if you call me Xander."

"Deal. Now that that's settled, what are you?"

"Who is the what now?" Xander's disarming grin was a highly effective tactic, for well over ten years it, combined with feigned ignorance and grammatical errors capable of reducing an English teacher to tears, had got him out of explaining so many things. Unfortunately, this time it wasn't enough.

"You aren't completely human. You forget, I routinely deal with half-breeds. I can tell when they're close, and you trigger that feeling in me. But for once, I can't determine an alignment, so tell me what you are, Angels-get or demon-spawn."

"Neither, and that's all you get."

"You seem to care about the opinions of the people up above, do they know? Or will it come as a surprise when I ask Rupert just what species you are?" Constantine inquired.

"You can't tell them! It won't take much for Buffy to try and take over. My friends won't stand for her style of leadership and will try to deal with the First without the Scoobies. We need all of us working together here." Xander was emphatic.

"Why should I trust you?"

"Why shouldn't you? Giles does, as do all the people up there right now. You've met them, heard what plans we've made, what's not to trust?"

"Six weeks ago, the Half-breed Angel Gabriel killed my apprentice and nearly released the Anti-Christ upon the earth. Forgive me for being suspicious."

"I'm not a half-breed, a demon or a heavenly being of any kind. But I understand your suspicion. If I explain to your satisfaction, you have to keep it between us until after the First is defeated."

"Unless it threatens others, very well."

"I'm older than anyone here knows. About six months ago, from 'now', I left Anya at the altar because I was shown visions of a terrible life ahead. I ran, stayed with the Tasker's for a couple of days, and then something happened. I fell into a dimensional rift and was thrown across the multi-verse. One of the first people I met was bonded to a Prince of Hell, had been for over fifteen hundred years. I offered to take on the burden as he'd suffered incredible torments keeping it caged within. He agreed, after a while. It took me, a long time, to get back to this reality, but I didn't physically age due to the demon's influence. Along the way I learnt to mask my essence from most sensitives, and met the people that 'portal' led to. Better yet, there was a temporal energy mix up as well, I landed a while back and stayed away until I'd get back after I'd left. Then I got back just in time to stop Willow from ending the world, intercepting quite a bit of magical energy in the doing too. I keep him caged, John, keep him out of the worlds light and will do until some poor shit convinces me that I've done enough, suffered enough, as I convinced Jason. I'm here to fight a war Constantine, and there isn't time for you to upset the fragile bonds holding this group together. Make your choice." By the end of his monologue, Xander had turned his back on Constantine. He was not only sounding exhausted, but resigned as well. Lonely.

"I don't think you're lying. You're not telling the whole story, but you're not lying. I won't tell anyone, but you might want to listen to this bit of advice."

"What?"

"Find someone here you trust completely, and tell them. One is the loneliest number in the world Xander. Two is practically a party." With that Constantine turned to head back up the stairs. "By the way, an Alan Rickman impersonator, who claimed your acquaintance, told me that if you went to the nearest church sometime today, you'll get a bit of help. Not much, but a bit." And the exorcist left the carpenter alone.

Nearly.

From the shadows behind where Constantine had stood, stepped the figure of a teenaged girl. Stepping quietly up to her friend, she put a hand on Xander's shoulder.

He spun, ready to fight, and she cursed herself for surprising him on his brand new blind side.

"Dawn?" he gasped

"Yah huh." The key offered with a grin.

"How long have you been down here Dawnie?" Xander tried to sound bright and chipper, but there was desperation in his eye.

"I followed Mr Constantine down here. You don't need to worry though, Buffy's out back training the potentials."

"So you heard…?"

"Pretty much everything, I think."

"Oh."

"Xander, why didn't you tell us? After Willow went to England?" Dawn was hurt that he hadn't trusted them with his secret.

"I didn't dare. With the exception of Angel, who she was in love with, Oz, who was clearly a victim, Spike, who was physically harmless at the time, and Clem, who she first met when she was drunk, Buffy has a kill-on-sight reaction to demons. At the very least she wouldn't have felt comfortable with me helping or being around you. I'd have been relegated to Spike's old position of tolerated, but not trusted and she couldn't afford that." Xander's serious tone indicated the hours he'd spent wrestling with the problem.

"Huh?"

"Dawn, after Kingman's Bluff, there were two fully fledged Scoobies on the Hellmouth, Buffy and me. You were training up to Scooby standard faster than expected, but not then good enough to reliably face one vamp without help. If Buffy had stopped trusting me, she'd have been effectively alone against any surprise threat. One lucky demon could have killed her and you, with me not knowing a thing about it until it was too late. The longer I left it, the harder it was to tell. I nearly did when Willow came back, but then there was that whole paralysing demon and it slipped. Then the First showed up and we couldn't afford any further divisions amongst us."

"I guess I can follow that." Assured Dawn "But what now?"

"I ask you to keep it quiet till the First is defeated, and then I'll tell the whole gang."

"Of course I will, if that's what you want. Whatever's happened to you, you're still Xander, the same man I've trusted for years." She hugged him, and he gratefully returned it.

"That's my Dawnie, the morning light…"

"Gee, thanks." chirped Dawn

"…with a tendency to hide in the shadows." Xander finished with a grin, seeming a bit distracted.

"What is it Xander?"

"Just a bit of deja-vu."

"From when."

"Oh, New York in the, thirties, I think it was…" Xander mused, only half aware of who he was talking to.

"The Thirties!" exclaimed Dawn "How long were you waiting before you could come back here?"

"Huh? Oh well, let's just say the Wright Brothers always did have their heads in the clouds." Smirked Xander, enjoying the opportunity to dazzle his friend.

"As in, Orville and Wilber Wright? The inventers of powered flight!" Dawn was dazzled. "Who else did you meet?"

"Oh, I met all sorts. In case you're interested, Ian Fleming wasn't a great poker player. Good at baccarat though. And JFK's reputation was vastly over-stated, yes, he was a ladies man, but no-one could bull-shit like he could regarding his 'conquests'."

"Meet anyone inspiring?"

"Now that you mention it, there was one man, a navy diver, called Carl Brashear…" Xander relaxed, comfortable now in sharing his secrets with the youngest of the Scooby Gang. They were there a while.

* * *

Later

"Feel better?"

"It was a lot to get off my chest."

"Happy to help, after all, everyone needs someone to talk to now and then."

"Thank you Dawn." Xander glanced at his watch "Cripes, we've been down here over an hour!"

"I got it covered."

"You do?"

"Sure, I told the potentials I was going to seduce you."

"WHAT?" Xander panicked – _Willow_, _Buffy_, and, oh, dear god, **_Giles!_** He was _dead_ when they heard this!

"Kidding."

"Oh thank god."

"They think I'm helping you clean your eye."

"Ah. Ok. I need to go check on something before dark."

"Buffy will want you to stay here."

"We'll see."

The two headed upstairs. There had been plans made, contingencies considered and planned for and another food run made. The Seal group had collected their radios and departed. Dawn headed off to talk to Giles, while Xander headed for the door.

"I'm headed out on an errand, I'll be back before dusk." He called out as he exited the Summers household.

"Wait right there buster!" whaddya know, Dawn was right.

"What is it Buffy?" asked Xander patiently. He'd been expecting this.

"You shouldn't go out alone."

"Why not?"

"The First! Bringers! Caleb! Uber-vamps!" Buffy exclaimed.

"The worst the First can do is attempt to talk me to death. Bringers aren't that much of a problem." Xander glanced around at the bright Californian afternoon. "Vampires of any stripe are unlikely to be out and about at this hour. As for Caleb, I'm betting he has more important things on his mind than this one-eyed carpenter."

"You need to stay here!"

"No, you need for me to stay here." Xander kept his voice convivial and at a conversational volume. "Constantine passed on a message which I intend to heed. If you really think I need protection, why don't you come along? It'll be like old times, the two of us walking the streets of Sunnydale." He cajoled. "I promise no-one will steal the house while we're gone…"

Buffy considered the likelihood of her convincing Xander to stay without losing her temper. It was low. It had also been a while since she'd spent much time with her best-male-friend in a one-on-one setting. Plus, she could find out where he was going. (Asking didn't occur to her.) And Sunnydale _was_ nice on a quiet afternoon…

"I'll grab my jacket and tell Giles we're going out." She answered, dashing in. She grabbed a light jacket, grabbed Willow and pulled her to one side.

"I'm going to go with Xander. Could you follow us and have a 'look' at anyone who we meet."

"Well, ok. If it's ok with Xander."

"Sure it is. C'mon Will."

With that, she dashed back out to where Xander was waiting. They began to walk off, headed in the general direction of one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries. They ambled along, chattering aimlessly about nothing very important. It was a nice change from the hectic and demanding pace of the house. As they drew closer to the churchyard, Xander became slightly more alert of his surroundings, hoping to catch his contact out for once.

"D'you do this often?"

"What?" he was confused.

"Wander the streets doing nothing much at all. It's, surprisingly relaxing." Clarified Buffy.

"Sure, sometimes. Not too often, but you've got to appreciate life, otherwise there's no real point fighting to prolong it."

"I guess. Where are we headed?"

"In there." Xander gestured towards the cool gloom of the church. "That's where Constantine said I should go."

"And you trust him."

"I trust Giles. Giles trusts him. That's good enough for now." With that, the two entered the gloom, a furtive Willow a little way behind.

Xander scanned the shadowed room, not just the area, but the vaulted ceiling as well.

"Who is this guy?" asked Buffy.

"Calls himself Metatron. Looks like Alan Rickman, you know, the bad-guy in 'Die Hard'. Speaks for God."

"Strange name…" said_ Buffy_, of all people "…And I'm still not convinced that 'Die Hard' is really a Christmas movie. Wait a sec, did you say he…?"

"BEHOLD THE METATRON, HERALD OF THE ALMIGHTY AND VOICE OF THE ONE TRUE GOD. BEHOLD THE METATRON, HERALD OF THE ALMIGHTY AND VOICE OF THE ONE TRUE GOD."

A pillar of flames erupted in front of the pair. Xander sighed, while Buffy whirled, grabbed a fire extinguisher from a wall bracket and spun, only, to her great surprise, be suddenly holding a toy haddock instead.

"No extinguishers. They ruin the suit. Nor are they required, that being a spiritual fire rather than a combustive one." The man who'd appeared from the flames, did, in fact, appear to be Alan Rickman. Accent and all. With the understanding that when this is said, we know that Alan Rickman does not have a _twelve foot wingspan_! "As I was saying…" his voice deepened "I, AM THE METATRON. HERALD OF THE ALMIGHTY AND…oh, quit poking me Harris! I don't get to meet new people very often."

"That's because you behave like this Al. You scare them off." Offered Xander

"I do not."

"Bet you fifty."

"You're on."

"Xander, is he…?" asked Buffy, groping for a word which meant insane, but was less likely to trigger deranged anger.

"An angel? Yes. Hence his impressive wingspan." Not what she meant. Useful to know though.

"Oi, don't steal my lines."

"Then don't have Serendipity inspire Kevin Smith to do any more documentaries."

"Kevin Smith doesn't do documentaries." stated Buffy.

"Dogma. It actually happened. Though Silent Bob was completely Silent." Explained Xander.

"How do you know!" exclaimed Buffy

"You're looking at the inspiration of, or at least the idea for, Rufus. They just used the 'cut from the bible cos he's a black man' rather than my 'cut from the bible cos he was just plain weird'. It played better to test audiences. Chris Rock was good though."

"Xander, you've just proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that you've gone completely insane!"

"Except for the Metatron standing right here!"

"Err…"

Both turned to face the Metatron, who was looking completely baffled.

"I _know_ you know I'm here for an important reason." He pointed at Xander "and you have never encountered an angel before." He pointed at Buffy "So why the bloody hell are you arguing over the stylistic vagaries of an independent film-maker?"

The two shared a conspirital glance, then said in perfect unison "It seemed like the thing to do?" in matching tones of perfect innocence.

"Harris, I'm this close from explaining a few things you'd prefer remained a secret."

Buffy perked up "Secrets?"

"No, please no. I'm begging you here."

"This lad here…"

"Yes?"

"No, no, no…"

"The man who has stood beside you since he discovered vampires, demons and the forces of darkness were real…"

"Yeeessss?"

"nononono…"

"Stripped for money while in Oxnard."

Buffy frowned "I inferred that ages ago."

"A Reprieve! Thank you!"

"So there's something else!" she stated triumphantly, gazing at Xander.

"Uhhhh…"

"Not important now. Alexander Harris, mortal gifted with discernment, do you accept your duty?" asked Metatron gravely.

"I do, emissary of the Almighty." Xander's tone was also formal.

"What duty? Xander, what the hell's going on?" asked Buffy sharply.

"Sorry Buffster, you missed the first act. Now you get to 'infer' from the proceedings."

"Alexander, Protector of Man, do you accept your Duty." Queried the Metatron.

"I do, Voice of God." Said the one-eyed man.

"Xander, stop right now!" commanded Buffy.

"Xander, Host and Carpenter, do you accept your DUTY." Metatron's voice rang with iron resolve.

"I do, though I may never forgive myself." Whispered Xander quietly.

"What is going on here! WILLOW!" bellowed Buffy.

"I'm sorry lad, truly I am. If I could, I'd change it." Commented the Metatron.

"You're supposed to be God's right hand angel! Of course you can change something you don't like!" Buffy was vehement.

"And who do you suppose decreed how this must go, Slayer twice dead? Now stop posturing, and comfort your friend."

Xander was sitting on the floor, looking shell-shocked and alone, tears trickling from his eye. As Buffy knelt beside him, Willow came barrelling around the corner.

"I heard you shout…Xander? What's wrong?"

"Will, this guy was asking about some duty. Xander said yes, and now…"

Willow's eyes hardened "What did you do?" she challenged.

"I confirmed his pledge, first made many years ago. Step aside Slayer, **now.**" Metatron's words had a compelling quality to them, and Buffy moved aside. He walked closer to the distraught carpenter, then knelt beside him.

"It's unfair I know. No man was built to carry your burden, for there was no need. You carry it well and justly in a world that could all too easily break you and your only reward is to carry it longer. It's unfair to ask this of one so young. Especially one who's done so much. But here's the crux of this matter, Harris, you volunteered. Offered to take it from a man near broken by it. You saw the end result, yet chose it anyway, for which all the angelic choirs will thank you forevermore. You've had a couple of benefits from the association, but only the minimum deserved by one such as you." Metatron leant closer, met Xander's gaze. "And here, as the bard would say, comes the rub. We never said you had to carry it alone. The association is unfortunately yours to bear, but if summoned, control can be imposed by others. After all, by sheer co-incidence, here you are with a nigh-on-apocalyptic situation on your hands, and I have those two fallen angels in need of redemption." Behind him, two forms coalesced. "They'll do their best Harris, just as you and Jason before you have done yours."

Metatron straightened, and turned to Buffy and Willow. "Bartleby and Loki will stand with you all in the final battle, but, they'll need to stay near Harris. Know that the Divine will is with you. As ever, our hope rests with the Slayer. Yet her hope lies with the Protector, and his with the dreamer of the great dream. Look after him girls, he's been a long way and has further to go yet."

Metatron left them then, fading into the light, while the two girls, so very young to his eyes, comforted their friend.

"It'll be okay Xand. We'll beat it, we always do." Offered Willow.

"This is a reverse, it's normally me crying on _your_ shoulder. Xander, that 'meto' guy got one thing right. Whatever 'burden' you bear, you'll have help. Us. It's my firm intention for us to all attend the 75th anniversary of the formation of the Scooby Gang. I've planned that party Xander, and you're right there, putting up decorations like everyone else. We'll get you through this."

* * *

The two angels were arguing quietly.

"We should tell them."

"Like I'm going to listen to you after last time."

"That wasn't my fault! Azrael used demonic inspiration on me!"

"Says you."

"Yes, like I can fake it with GOD. Sometimes you need to think things through."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, if we tell them, their anger will be directed at us. If he tells them, where will it go?"

"Oh."

"See?"

"Yeah man, we'll tell them."

"Just as soon as that Buffy girl puts down that iron bar."

"Good idea."

* * *

Ooh, what happens now? To tell the truth, this has sort of run away with me. Oh well, See ya next time!

Review. (Please) I'm curious what you think, because I've added quite a bit here.


	8. Chapter 8

Look who's back, back again, Cranston's back, tell your friends!

It is important to remember that I own none of these characters, or their respective universes. I just play with them.

"blah blah blah" – talking

_I think therefore I am_ – thoughts.

* * *

Summers Household

The three original members of the Scooby Gang, plus two Angels, had made their way back from the church, Xander refusing to explain what had happened there. As a result, Willow and Buffy were annoyed and Xander twitchy, while Bartleby and Loki were desperately avoiding attracting attention to themselves (Buffy still had the iron bar in her hand.). They were all surprised to find an equally jubilant and scolding Giles greeting them.

"Where the devil have you been? Going off without telling anyone where you were going!" This caused Xander to throw a sharp glance at Buffy, who winced. "Sorry G-Man, guess each of us thought the other had told ya. Constantine gave me a message which I acted on, Wills and the Buffster decided to tag along. We've got a coupla more fighters for our side, might I introduce Bartleby and Loki."

Giles hadn't missed the glance, correctly interpreting it for what it was. _I wonder why Buffy didn't tell me. I'll have to inquire later. _"Very well, if you vouch for them they're truly welcome. And don't call me 'G-Man'."

"Well, it's not so much me vouching for them as you trusting me to know whether to trust the individual who sent them here. G-Man." Xander smirked at the older man.

The six made their way inside, Giles taking note of the fact neither Bartleby nor Loki required invitations.

"Would you be so good as to pass on the identity of this 'individual'?" inquired Giles dryly.

"It was someone claiming to be 'Le Metatron', Giles!" Willow burst out "It can't be, right? I mean, you always refer to Christianity as mythology and stuff…"

"Well, I'm not sure that…" began Giles, only to be interrupted by Xander.

"He's the real deal Wills, talked to Moses, de-toxed Noah, informed Jesus Christ of his parentage, the whole enchilada."

"I say, how do you know this?" asked Giles.

"Long story, suffice to say there was plenty of proof of the incontrovertible variety." Xander turned to Willow, whose face had gone grey. "And that bit in the bible about witchcraft, not from on-high at all." He said reassuringly "Heck, there are witches out their followed around by guardian angels 24-7!"

Willow's face regained most of its colour.

"How do you know?" This was from Buffy.

"Again, long story. If everything goes to plan, we'll have a surplus of time to chat about it, and if we fail, we'll talk anyway, just on the other side of them pearly gates. For now, trust me."

"We do Xander," began Giles "it's just, we're unaccustomed to not knowing the entire plan."

"Nothing I can do about that I'm afraid. I may know a little more than you guys, but I'm getting directions from higher up, and they're not about to tell me any more than I already know."

"But you can tell us all you know already." Pressed Buffy.

"No. Part of the plan requires not only your non-participation in part of it, which I know wouldn't happen if you knew what it was, but for your reactions to the rest of the plan to be natural."

"But…"

"No buts. I know I'm asking a lot, but I promise you that the plan should work."

"Should?" asked Giles, mildly alarmed.

"No plan survives contact with the enemy G-Man. This one gives us about a sixty-four percent chance of complete success, and a twelve percent chance of a partial one."

"But what are we meant to do?" wailed Willow.

"We do what we always do, we save the world."

Buffy slammed hurled the iron bar into a nearby wall in frustration. It stuck in place, a quarter of the bar impaled through the wall. Xander winced, knowing he'd have to fix that later and there was a startled cry from the next room.

"Damn it Xander! That's not good enough! I need to know the whole plan! I'm the one in charge of all this, so I need to know what you intend to do or I won't know whether I can cover or depend on you or not!" Buffy's shout attracted the attention of the others in residence.

"What's going on?" asked a nearby potential.

"Xander was about to explain what his grand plan for beating the First is." growled Buffy. Willow was glancing from one of them to the other as if unsure of whom to speak to, while Giles hung back.

"I knew it couldn't last." Muttered Xander under his breath, as he looked at the newly assembled group in Buffy's hall. "Alrighty then folks, here's the general gist of it. We're the delaying action and distraction for another group who'll be doing the tough part. Our job is to keep the First focused on us, create the situation which will let the other's succeed, and inflict what damage we can on the First's forces in case the other's fail. No, I'm not saying who the others are, because you don't need to know. Heck, I only know one of them for definite, but I do know the one who's pulling the strings and it is no exaggeration to say that he's one of the most powerful forces of goodness to ever exist. If anyone here feels uncomfortable with the fact that we're deliberately drawing the inimical attentions of The First Evil, I'd like to point out that the newest additions to our force are honest-to-goodness Angels. By that I mean they have fiery swords, angelic armour, and impressive wingspans, all wrapped up in neat packages created by God. Any of you guy's want to leave, I'm not gonna even try to stop you; you're here by choice to oppose evil and save the world. You figure that that's not what we're doing, the door's behind me."

There was some shuffling amongst the group, as Buffy and Willow stared at him, flabbergasted that they were the _distraction_ for the real fight. Some of the potentials looked uncomfortable and the Initiative commando's had gotten blank expressions. Riley shouldered his way to the front, accompanied by O'Neill and Helen Tasker.

"So, you're saying that we're the window dressing for an op undertaken by an unknown force with an unknown goal. The only verification for their mission we have is you, and in order to let them do the job, we piss off the most powerful force for evil we've ever encountered?" enquired Riley, his expression forbidding.

"Whoa now, I didn't say anything about assaulting the IRS!" exclaimed Xander, eliciting chuckles from most of the group. "But essentially, yes."

O'Neill grinned "But could we add them to the list of targets?" he joked.

Riley's poker-face cracked and he mock-saluted Xander. "Colonel Paper Target reporting for duty, sir!"

Blade nodded from his position near the stairs.

"The SGC's with you." Stated O'Neill.

"So am I." chirped Seras.

"Intangible evil with countless hordes of super-vamps. The opposition isn't any tougher than before. I'm in." said Clark "Just don't leave me alone with the potentials – ever."

"Hell, LA's best SWAT team will make a great distraction." Harrumphed Hondo.

"I'm in." said RoboCop.

"Me too." Murmured Oz.

"I'm in for the long haul X." affirmed Faith.

"We're not going anywhere." Helen stated, her arm snaking around Faith's shoulders.

"Anything to piss off the big bad." Smirked Constantine.

Only the potentials and remaining Scoobies had yet to voice their choice. Then, one by one, the potentials nodded their assent to Xander, leaving only Giles, Willow, Buffy, Dawn, Wood and Spike unconfirmed.

The Scoobies glanced at one another, confirming to themselves that one of their own had taken such a step.

Giles glanced around the hall, "We few, we happy few…" he declared as he motioned his assent.

"We band of buggered." Chimed in Spike with a vicious grin and a nod.

Dawn, Willow and Wood likewise motioned their assent to this radical departure in strategic planning.

With a final glance around the assembled people, the assembled heroes, in her home, all looking to Xander, Buffy finally accepted something. While important, she was not the be-all and end-all of things. If she declined to follow Xander's lead in this, he wouldn't try to force her. But these others would follow him, and she couldn't _not_ oppose the First to the best of her capability.

"I'm with you, Xan." She said quietly, ceding her command to her oldest companion in the good fight. "I expect a whole avalanche of explanations after the apocalypse though!" she insisted.

Xander looked Buffy right in the eye, saw the sincerity shining there, as well as the relief, albeit unconscious, as part of her realised she was no longer responsible for the _entire_ weight of the world.

"You got it Buff." He assured, as that weight was shifted to him. "You got it."

He glanced at his newly re-affirmed team, seeing the commitment, the fear, the strength and the will exuded by them all.

"Let's get to work."

* * *

Wow, another chapter down. Sorry it's been so long, my muse not only stopped providing, it actively stifled what creativity I have of my own! Reviews are more than welcome, they're positively encouraged! Tell me what you think, or else I'll think no-one likes it! 


End file.
